Dubai: A cleaner, who battered a man’s head with a stick following a heated argument and caused him a haemorrhage that could have killed him, has been jailed for one year.
The 29-year-old Nigerian cleaner quickly grabbed the stick from the man’s hand and hit his head before he was attacked in May 2016.
The victim, whose nationality remained undisclosed in records, was taken to hospital where doctors performed urgent and life-saving surgery on him as he had suffered a haemorrhage.
Surgeons lifted the victim’s skull to be able to reduce the haemorrhage that had resulted in the man losing consciousness.
Law enforcement officers arrested the Nigerian, who was identified from the surveillance cameras installed at the building where the incident happened at 7.15pm.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the cleaner of assaulting the man and causing him a permanent disability.
The Nigerian had pleaded innocent in court.
A police corporal testified that a person reported to them that someone had assaulted the victim, who was rushed to a hospital as he bled profusely from his head.
“The caller informed the police that the beaten man had an argument and quarrelled with the defendant, who battered his head with a stick. The caller said the man collapsed on the floor and lost consciousness. The surveillance cameras at the building where the assault happened clearly showed the Nigerian assaulting the man.
“The defendant was taken into custody. During questioning, he admitted that he had a heated argument with the victim … the argument developed into a fight. The accused said the man grabbed a stick and was about to attack him when he took it away and beat him. The accused admitted the victim fell down after he hit his head … he then threw away the stick and left the place,” the corporal said.
Medical reports confirmed that the victim’s head injury still requires medical follow-up.
The primary judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
