Dubai: An Indian carpenter has denied that he caused the death of a co-worker who suffered a fatal heart attack after he allegedly slapped him at a construction site along Business Bay.
"I am not guilty. I didn't assault him and I didn't even touch him. The claims are baseless because I didn't slap him at all," the defendant R.S. said when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
According to the chargesheet filed by prosecutors, R.S. allegedly assaulted the victim identified as J.M. before he suffered a heart attack.
A forensic doctor who conducted autopsy on J.M., told the court that the defendant had no direct role in the victim's demise.
"The deceased died of cardiac failure following the scuffle," the doctor told prosecutors.
Scuffle
A Pakistani worker who witnessed the scuffle testified that the incident happened at a construction site where they were working in Business Bay.
"I heard J.M. ask R.S. to give him some screws. When the suspect asked J.M. why he needed the screws, the deceased replied: ‘The screws aren't for your father so give it to me'.
Thereafter the two indulged in a heated argument which evolved into a scuffle. The site engineer intervened and stopped them from pushing each other. Suddenly J.M. leaned on the wall before collapsing," claimed the worker.
The Indian site engineer testified that the victim died in the first aid room at the worksite.
Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout will give his judgment on May 25.
