Dubai: A student has been jailed for six months for deliberately damaging three police cars that had cordoned off his residence to prevent him from absconding when they went to apprehend him.
Three police cars were commissioned to apprehend the 25-year-old Emirati student who was wanted by Dubai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Department in May.
Drug enforcement officers parked the cars around the parking entrance of the student’s residence in Al Warqa’a in a bid to stop him if he tried to flee.
The student jumped into his vehicle once he spotted the police cars and intentionally rammed his vehicle into the first car, then repositioned his vehicle and sped off between the other two police cars causing damage to them as well.
Officers chased the accused in the three cars and restrained him after he caused an accident with another vehicle and could not speed away.
On Wednesday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 25-year-old defendant of intentionally damaging police vehicles and causing Dh6,700 worth of damage.
Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi also convicted the defendant of endangering the lives of the policemen who were inside the patrol vehicles when he rammed them with his car deliberately.
The accused pleaded not guilty.
A police sergeant testified that the incident happened when they tried to apprehend the defendant.
“We parked the cars outside the man’s residence in a way to prevent him from running away in case he tried to do so. However, once he saw the police cars, he drove his car at high speed and intentionally rammed the first police car. Then he repositioned his vehicle, hit the other two cars and continued driving away. We arrested him once he got involved in an accident and failed to drive away. A Pakistani and a Saudi man were present with him in his vehicle. We went to arrest him because he had dodged the periodical drug test that he was supposed to undergo,” the sergeant said.
Wednesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
