Dubai: A taxi driver has denied the charge of attempting to murder a student who allegedly stole his money and mobile phone, a court heard on Sunday.
Prosecutors charged the 28-year-old Pakistani driver with trying to kill the 20-year-old Emirati student with a shovel and causing him critical injuries.
The student, S.H., suffered partial blindness due to the beating and he was spotted wearing dark glasses and his acquaintance assisted him into the Dubai Court of First Instance's dock on Sunday.
S.H., his 29-year-old compatriot, H.N., and a 21-year-old Iranian salesman, K.S., were charged with stealing the taxi driver's money and phone.
"I am not guilty…" 28-year-old taxi driver M.J. told Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout.
S.H. and K.S. also pleaded innocent to the charges against them.
According to the chargesheet, M.J. repeatedly beat S.H. with a shovel. Medical reports confirmed that S.H. was hospitalised with critical injuries to his head, face and skull.
The driver claimed during prosecution questioning: "The three defendants stopped me in Al Rashidiya and asked me to drop them to Mirdif. They asked me to drive through one of the dark streets, then asked me to pull over. Suddenly, they assaulted me and ran away after they took my wallet and mobile phone.
"I chased them down until they entered a villa and hid inside… S.H. assaulted me with a pocketknife, meanwhile H.N. beat me with his hands. I grabbed the shovel off the floor and hit S.H. Meanwhile H.N. ran away. When an Arab man came to see what was happening, I asked him to call the police," M.J. claimed during prosecution questioning.
A Jordanian merchant testified that he saw the driver attack S.H. with a shovel.
