Dubai: An employee has been accused of assaulting a taxi driver who had asked him to buckle his seat belt and not to eat in the car.

The 24-year-old Emirati employee, N.M., was said to have brutally beaten the Pakistani driver and caused him a permanent disability when the latter prevented him from eating in the taxi and insisted that he should wear the seat belt in January.

Prosecutors accused N.M. of assaulting the 48-year-old driver and causing him a five per cent permanent disability.

“Yes, I beat him,” said the suspect as he entered a guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.

The suspect then told presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi that the driver had waived his complaint.

“Did he already waive his complaint?” the judge asked N.M.

“No, Sir … but he told me that he would come to court to waive his complaint. He is present in the courtroom now,” the suspect said.

Thereafter the driver was seen heading towards the judges’ bench.

“Do you want to drop your complaint?” presiding judge Al Shamsi asked the driver.

“No, I don’t want to. I cannot work properly since I got injured when he beat me,” replied the Pakistani.

The driver claimed in his prosecution statement that the alleged assault happened after he picked up the Emirati from Morocco Street and was driving him to Festival City.

“He took the front seat and did not put on his seat belt. When I asked him to do so, he refused. Then he opened his bag and wanted to eat food … I told him that eating on board the taxi is against the company’s policy. When I reached the destination, he stepped out of the vehicle then kicked the door angrily and closed it. When I asked him why he did that, he opened the door again and said ‘I am an Emirati’. When I asked him to close the door so that I could drive away … he refused and kept holding it. I stepped out from my seat and walked towards the door to close it, but he beat me. He hit me with a watch that he had in his hand repeatedly until I bled. Two security guards from the Festival City and I restrained the suspect until the police came and took him into custody,” testified the driver.

A ruling will be heard next week.