Driver ‘stabbed man in eye with screwdriver’

DUBAI // A Pakistani driver accused of stabbing a compatriot in the eye with a screwdriver told a court yesterday that the man had stabbed himself.

The 30-year-old defendant denied a charge of physical assault and causing a permanent disability when he appeared at Du- bai Criminal Court. Prosecutors said that on July 5 last year, the alleged victim, 35, was asked by a Pakistani friend to guard his tanker while it filled with water.

“I stood there as my friend left for a few minutes. It was then when the defendant arrived and asked me to move the tanker and I told him I was not the driver,” he said.

“I told him the driver will be back soon but he did not listen and started screaming then walked towards his tanker.”

The defendant returned holding a large screwdriver and attacked the man by stabbing him several times in the right eye.

The injured man fell to the ground unconscious and when the defendant tried to escape, he was restrained by the other driver.

Police were contacted and the defendant detained.

The driver of the first tanker said the defendant had confessed to him that he had stabbed the victim. “He was very scared as he confessed to me,” said the 30-year-old witness.

The next hearing will be on April 19.