Dubai: A worker faces three years in jail for giving a fatal punch to his workmate whose head hit two iron pipes before he suffered a haemorrhage and died.
The Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday convicted the 21-year-old Indian worker of beating his compatriot workmate, M.J., to death.
Prosecutors accused 21-year-old F.M. of punching M.J. repeatedly before the latter's head hit the pipes and he suffered internal bleeding inside his head, and died.
"I am not guilty… he was the one who punched me first. We had a heated argument which developed into a fight. I hit him back after he punched me in the eye. When our workmates tried to stop the fight, M.J. fell on the floor and hit his head," argued F.M. when he defended himself in court.
According to the arraignment sheet, prosecutors also charged a 22-year-old Indian worker, A.B., with giving wrong information to the police during investigations.
A 35-year-old Indian man, C.C., was accused of failing to report the matter to the police.
Pronouncing yesterday's judgement in courtroom four, Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad said A.B. and C.C. will be prosecuted before the Dubai Misdemeanors Court. They denied their accusation and pleaded not guilty.
Prosecution records showed that further investigations revealed that A.B. gave incorrect information to the police meanwhile C.C. failed to report the crime.
Yesterday's judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.