Expat jailed for assault and cursing

Dubai: A British man faces three months in jail after a court convicted him on Monday of punching a man and cursing him in a public place.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the 46-year-old British man to three months in jail after Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad found him guilty of assault, cursing and drinking liquor.

When the accused, T.A., appeared in court earlier he confessed that he had consumed alcohol but refuted the charge of punching the 35-year-old Swede manager, S.H., and cursing him in public.

Prosecutors accused the Briton of causing a one per cent permanent disability to the Swede's lip and cursing him in public while he was under the influence of alcohol.

Presiding Judge Abdul Jawad referred the Swede's civil compensation claim to the Dubai Civil Court.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said T.A. did not intend to cause one per cent disability to S.H. when he assaulted him.

S.H. testified that the incident happened after the accused phoned and asked to meet him to resolve a few business disputes between them.

The Swede claimed: "I was playing bowling when T.A. informed me that he was waiting for me in front of my house".

"I went there and he seemed drunk and tensed," S.H. said. "He yelled and cursed me. He grabbed my head from the back and punched me then I fell to the ground ... T.A. left the place. Guardsmen came to me and I was rushed to hospital."

Heated argument

A Tanzanian witness testified to prosecutors: "They both worked in real estate industry ... when S.H. opened his own company, they had a dispute. When I reached the place, they were involved in a heated argument. A minute later, T.A. punched S.H. who fell on the ground".

Medical reports confirmed that S.H.'s lip was permanently disabled. Monday's judgment remains subject to appeal within 15 days.