Dubai
A salesman, who attacked an immigration officer with a pocketknife after he caught him placing massage cards on windshields of cars, has been jailed for three months.
The 27-year-old Bangladeshi salesman walked around parked cars in the street and left massage cards on windshields in February when the Emirati immigration officer and his partner spotted him.
The immigration officers were on a routine check for illegal workers when they saw the salesman randomly leaving massage cards on cars.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of attacking the officer with a pocketknife when he tried to apprehended him. The accused had pleaded innocent.
One of the officers called the number mentioned on one of the cards, according to records, and the Bangladeshi man answered the call and explained what massages they offered.
The officer then agreed to meet the salesman at a certain point and, when they did, the officer presented his ID and asked the 27-year-old for his Emirates ID and papers.
The accused hesitated and the officer was about to handcuff him when he took out a pocketknife and attacked the officer leaving him bleeding profusely.
The officer’s partner, who had called for a police backup, intervened in an attempt to restrain the salesman but he absconded.
The immigration officer said he was attacked after he and his partner spotted the defendant placing massage cards on cars.
“I dialled the number mentioned on the card and the defendant answered. I asked him about the types of massage they offer before I agreed to meet him so he would guide me to the spa. Once I met him, I presented my ID and asked him for his papers. He hesitated for a while and did not take out his ID … then he took me by surprise as he pulled out a small knife from his pocket and slashed my wrist when I tried to apprehend him. We notified the police once he absconded,” he said.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal.
