Dubai: A clerk accused of pushing a man who died from bleeding in his lungs will be jailed for two years.

The British clerk, S.L., ran into his countryman, P.A., at a friend’s birthday party at a hotel in Tecom area when S.L. pushed P.A., who fell to the ground and suffered internal bleeding in October.

P.A. was rushed to the nearest hospital where he was pronounced dead after he slipped into a coma.

Despite having pleaded not guilty, S.L. was found guilty by the Dubai Court of First Instance of being liable for the victim’s demise.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, the accused will be deported following the completion of his two-year imprisonment.

Records said S.L. pushed the victim and when the latter fell down he suffered severe bleeding that blocked his lungs and caused his death after slipping into a coma.

An Indian taxi driver said he witnessed the incident as five Britons [including the suspect] hired his services.

“Three of them were women and they came into the vehicle … except for the defendant who went to speak with the victim. One of the women called the defendant repeatedly to come into the taxi. I noticed that the defendant had a heated conversation with the victim … S.L. seemed to be angry and shouted loudly at P.A. for nearly 15 minutes. I moved my vehicle away from the hotel so as not to block the traffic. The woman kept calling the suspect to come to the car … but he did not. They were three metres behind the car when I spotted the defendant pushing the deceased. The suspect then came into the car and I drove away … I dropped everybody and returned to the same hotel where an ambulance had been called to the scene,” he testified.

P.A.’s wife said that her husband had promised to return home before midnight. “He went to attend a birthday party … he had promised to return early because our son was sick. When he did not return home around 12, I called him repeatedly but he didn’t answer. At 4am, the hospital called me and I was told that he had been admitted to the emergency. I rushed to the hospital where my husband had been admitted to the intensive care unit … a doctor informed me that he had been assaulted. He died the next day at noon,” she testified.

The British suspect was quoted as telling prosecutors that he consumed liquor and pushed the victim in self-defence after P.A. pushed him.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.