Dubai: A martial artist was jailed for three months for assaulting and insulting a passport control official at the airport.
The Emirati passport control official was stationed at the passport control queue for GCC and Emirati citizens when he asked passengers to move to another queue at the Dubai International Airport in February.
Once all GCC citizens moved to the designated queue, the official asked the 33-year-old Egyptian woman also to move to the right queue. The woman refused to move and yelled at the official when he told her that the line she was standing was for Emiratis. The Egyptian woman mocked the Emirati official and spoke impolitely to him, and pushed him in front of other passengers.
When the official asked the defendant to accompany him to the duty supervisor’s office, she walked beside him and then pushed him again in front of the supervisor.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the woman of assaulting, insulting and offending the passport official.
According to the primary judgement, the Egyptian will be deported following the completion of her punishment.
The victim testified that the incident happened at 1am at the arrivals terminal.
“The accused refused to move to the queue for non-Emiratis. When I insisted on her to change the queue, she got angry and misbehaved. She offended and pushed me before other passengers … then I told her to come to the supervisor’s office. She called me stupid in front of the supervisor,” he said.
A residency and immigration captain said the accused denied mistreating and assaulting the official.
“I tried to calm her down but she kept on shouting and boasted of her being a martial artist and having won so many championships. I called the police office at the airport and she was apprehended,” he said.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
