British expat sentenced to three months in Dubai jail

Jailed

A British expatriate has been sentenced to serve three months in jail after being found guilty of cursing, assault and consuming alcohol by the Dubai Court of First Instance.

Reports from Dubai state that the man, currently known only as T.A, had become drunk, began to swear in public and physically assaulted his manager, known as S.H, by punching him in the face.

T.A conceded that he had consumed alcohol but denies the charges of assault and public swearing. However, Judge Abdul Jawad thought otherwise and found T.A guilty of all charges. The dispute supposedly arose when T.A telephoned S.H and arranged a meeting- “I was playing bowling when T.A. informed me that he was waiting for me in front of my house. I went there and he seemed drunk and tensed, he yelled and cursed me. He grabbed my head from the back and punched me then I fell to the ground. T.A. left the place. Guardsmen came to me and I was rushed to hospital,” said S.H.

An unnamed witness corroborated S.H’s claims: “They both worked in real estate industry, when S.H. opened his own company, they had a dispute. When I reached the place, they were involved in a heated argument. A minute later T.A. punched S.H. who fell on the ground.”

T.A now has 15 days to appeal the decision.