Dubai: A worker will spend six months behind bars for beating a man who had bailed him out of jail by pledging his passport with the authorities.
The Pakistani worker got involved in a criminal case in Sharjah before his 50-year-old countryman deposited his passport to bail the worker out in November 2016.
The 50-year-old victim searched for the worker, who had disappeared and not visited the police station again, because he needed his passport.
When the victim accidentally found the accused in Al Hamriya area and tried to call the police, the worker and his friend assaulted him.
In February, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Pakistani worker and his friend of assaulting the victim and jailed them for six months each. He was sentenced in absentia after he failed to appear in court.
The friend was acquitted for lack of corroborated evidence.
The accused surrendered himself and requested a retrial before the same court.
He pleaded not guilty and denied the accusation of assaulting the victim and causing him a 4 per cent permanent disability.
He argued that he acted in self defence.
On Tuesday, presiding judge Mohammad Jamal sentenced the defendant to six months in jail
As per the primary ruling, the accused will be deported following the completion of his jail term.
The 50-year-old victim said the incident happened after he tried to take back his passport from Sharjah Police.
“The defendant was involved in a criminal case in Sharjah, and I handed over my passport to bail him out. Thereafter he never showed up again at the police station, and I could not get back my passport. The accused disappeared and I searched for him in several places. When I ran into him coincidentally in Al Hamriya, I restrained him and called the police. He and his friend assaulted me and they fled. I was rushed to hospital for treatment,” the victim testified.
Tuesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
