Dubai: A housekeeper has been acquitted of threatening over phone to kill a football coach, after he produced in court a defence witness who denied the incident.
Prosecutors charged the 37-year-old Nigerian suspect of verbally threatening to kill the 29-year-old British football coach by reportedly telling him over his mobile phone, "I will kill you."
The Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday acquitted the suspect, P.D., for lack of evidence.
"No. I didn't threaten him. I am not guilty," argued P.D. when he defended himself before Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir.
The British coach, A.T., alleged in his prosecution statement that he had lent money to the husband of a woman called M.
"I phoned her repeatedly concerning my money… but to no avail. One day I received a call from her mobile number and it turned out to be a man who claimed to be her brother… the caller threatened to kill me if I ever phoned her again," claimed A.T.
Witness
M., a Nigerian woman, came to court and testified before Presiding Judge Mounir. She said: "The suspect was my colleague in Burj Al Arab… My husband has borrowed money from the victim and he travelled back home. I didn't know that my husband had borrowed him money. The claimant phoned me and said I have to pay him the money or he would call the police… P.D. was present and he told him over the phone that he had to wait for my husband to repay him and not me."
She said the suspect did not threaten the victim.
Yesterday's acquittal is still subject to appeal within 15 days.
