Dubai: An Emirati senior official has been arrested for attacking an Indian driver over a minor road accident, according to a senior police official.
Majer General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Acting Chief of Dubai Police, said a government official was arrested on Monday and his case has been transferred to the public prosecutor over beating up an Indian man in the middle of the road in clear view of other road users.
Major General Al Mazeina said the incident happened on Saturday.
“What had happened is an inappropriate and unacceptable way of behaving and it is not our tradition or morals,” said Major General Al Mazeina.
“Emiratis are forgiving and kind-hearted and will not behave in this way,” Al Mazeina said.
The case was transferred to the public prosecution on Tuesday, he said.
The official, a director at a governmental department in Dubai, was arrested after the video, taken by a passerby, was posted on YouTube on Monday.
In the video, the driver, who works for private company in Dubai, hits the car of the official before ignoring the accident and continuing to drive. The official follows him, stops him to shout at him and then begins to beat him using his igal, a traditional Emirati head ornament. The Indian man does not defend himself. A passerby then intervenes to plead with the official to leave the man alone.
Dubai Police said no one was above the law and such behaviour is unacceptable.
Social media users urged police to arrest both the attacker and the person who posted the video on YouTube. Others said that the Indian driver should have reported the incident immediately to police.
The original video has since been taken down from YouTube. Taking such videos in the street without the acknowledgment of people involved is illegal and constitutes defamation, according to Dubai Police.
