Policeman denies belittling colleague

Dubai: A policeman on Monday denied in court the charge of belittling and scolding a police major who had tried to arrest him on a charge of public annoyance at 4.30a.m. in Mirdif.

When the 28-year-old Emirati policeman appeared before the Dubai Appeals Court he pleaded not guilty and firmly denied the charge of disparaging the police major, also an Emirati.

The policeman, M.S., appealed the primary judgment [one month in jail] and is seeking to be declared innocent by the court.

In June, the Dubai Misdemeanours Court convicted M.S. of disparaging the officer while he was carrying out his law enforcement duties.

"The police major abused his power and fabricated the public annoyance complaint against my client. He also unfoundedly accused M.S. of consuming alcohol out of malice," M.S.'s lawyer Saeed Al Gailani contended on Monday.

Al Gailani argued that prosecutors failed to reveal the identity of the person who complained about the noise. A verdict will be heard soon.