Dubai: A jobless man has been accused of trying to kill a police sergeant, who arrested him over suspicion of preying on bank clients with the intention to rob them.
The 25-year-old Afghan man, A.A., was said to have taken out a knife and attempted to slit the sergeant’s neck but stabbed his arm instead when the latter tried to handcuff him in July.
Prosecutors accused the defendant of attempted murder and threatening to kill the sergeant.
The suspect did not come from his detention to the Dubai Court of First Instance where he was scheduled to enter his plea on Monday.
According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said A.A. attempted to kill the sergeant who was attending to his duty while trying to arrest the suspect. The Afghan stabbed the sergeant in his arm and tried to slit his neck before he was retrained.
The assaulted sergeant testified to prosecutors that the incident happened while he and his partners were keeping an eye on bank clients to look out for any potential robbers.
“During the stakeout, we suspected three men, who had criminal records and had been involved in robbing bank clients. The trio ran away once they spotted us… I chased one of the three men, who resisted me ferociously when I tried to restrain him. Suddenly the defendant [A.A.] came from behind and grabbed my neck with one arm and took out a knife wanting to stab me in the neck with the other arm. I managed to avoid the knife… he waved the knife repeatedly until he hit my hand. My colleagues and some pedestrians restrained him. Then he looked at me and threatened to slit my neck if he ever sees me again,” he claimed to prosecutors.
A policeman claimed to prosecutors that A.A. tried to stab his partner when they suspected four to five men trying to target bank clients to rob them.
“I chased a number of them but they ran away. When I returned, I saw my colleague bleeding from the hand,” the policeman testified.
Prosecution records confirmed that A.A. had been convicted in a number of theft cases involving bank clients. He was also deported several times but returned illegally, said the records.
Presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat adjourned the case until the defendant is brought from detention on February 9.
