Dubai: A student, who was convicted of unintentionally causing the death of a realty broker when he punched him on his head at a restaurant, lost his appeal on Wednesday and will spend two years in jail.
The 22-year-old Emirati student, K.K., walked from his seat towards the Indian broker, who was accompanied by relatives and friends at the restaurant, and punched him on his head in August.
Dubai Police’s forensic examiner said the victim died due to severe cerebral haemorrhage and shock.
In April, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed K.K. for two years.
K.K. appealed the primary ruling and asked the Dubai Court of Appeals to overturn his imprisonment.
On Wednesday, presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm rejected the appeal. The appellate court also rejected the prosecutors’ appeal to impose a stiffer punishment.
Presiding judge Bin Sarm also upheld the decision to refer the civil lawsuit lodged by the victim’s family to the Civil Court to look into their emotional, moral and financial claims.
An Indian waiter testified that the assault happened shortly after the Emirati told him to ask the victim and his friends to stop taking photos at the restaurant of a five-star hotel in Jumeirah.
“The victim and his three companions were sitting at one table while the defendant and a woman were seated at another. After dinner, the victim and his friends were taking photos with their mobile phones. The accused got disturbed, so he called me and told me to ask the victim and his companions to stop snapping photos. I informed the victim and his companions that the defendant was annoyed because they had taken too many photos and asked them to stop. They told me it was not his business and that they had taken photos for themselves. I was surprised when I saw the defendant walking towards them … he had a heated argument with the victim before he punched him. The victim immediately dropped down unconscious. We tried to revive him with wet towels … but he remained unconscious,” said the waiter.
K.K.’s lawyer argued before the appeal court that K.K. did not assault the victim and he could not be held liable for his death.
“He confronted the deceased and asked him to stop clicking photos because he and his fiancee [the woman who was present with the defendant] were there. Medical reports did not conclusively confirm that the victim died because of the assault. Witnesses said the paramedics and some of the hotel’s staff, who had tried to resuscitate the victim, were the ones who had caused bruises to his body while attending to him medically and attempting to perform CPR procedures.”
The restaurant’s Egyptian manager testified that he prevented the accused from leaving the premises and held back his Emirates ID until the police came.
The Indian broker was pronounced dead a few hours after he was taken to a hospital where all efforts to resuscitate him failed, said records.
Wednesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.
