Gulf citizen behind bars for seven years on assault charges in Dubai

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced a Gulf citizen to seven years in jail after being convicted of intentionally causing a permanent disability to another person due to a dispute over the purchase of a dog owned by one of them.

The dispute snowballed into a verbal altercation and a clash where the defendant cut off the other man’s palm of his hand with a large knife that was in his possession.

The case dated back to October last year when a police patrol rushed to the scene of a report stating that a fight took place between two Gulf citizens.

The victim stated that he offered a dog he owned for sale on an animal trading platform on a social networking site, adding that a man contacted him and requested to inspect the dog before buying it and they both agreed to a place where they could meet.

The defendant arrived at the victim’s house and saw the dog but before the deal was completed, the victim’s daughter asked her father not to sell the dog and to keep it. The defendant got angry and an altercation happened that developed into a fight.

Subsequently, the victim brought a small knife to force the defendant to leave but the later went to his car and brought a large knife to tell the victim of his keen interest in buying the dog. He, however, not only threatened the victim but cut off the palm of his hand as well.

On interrogation, the defendant admitted that he assaulted the victim after the latter attacked him with a knife following an altercation that occurred between them. He, however, denied having deliberately caused a permanent disability to the victim.