Man cleared of criminal charge for threatening drivers with toy gun
Technician who threatened to shoot speeding bus drivers with toy gun to be admitted to rehab centre
Dubai: A technician, who was absolved by a court of threatening to kill speeding bus drivers with a toy gun, will be admitted to a rehabilitation centre.
In March, three bus drivers reported the incident to a policeman in Global Village, saying that a person had pointed a gun at them and threatened to shoot if they did not drive at slower speeds.
The policeman then tracked down the man, who turned out to be a 35-year-old Indian technician.
When asked about the drivers’ claims, the man responded that he was angered by a number of reckless and speeding drivers and had asked them to reduce their speeds by showing them a toy gun.
On Wednesday, the Dubai Court of First Instance found the suspect not criminally responsible for his actions [threatening to shoot the drivers with the toy gun if they did not reduce their speeds].
“The suspect was not found to be criminally liable for his actions and he will be admitted to a rehabilitation centre for treatment,” said presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi.
The technician pleaded not guilty in court and contended that he did not have a criminal intention and had used a toy gun, not a real one.
A Bangladeshi bus driver said the suspect approached him while he was picking up passengers. “He pointed his gun at me and asked me to open the window; he said he would kill me if I did not reduce my speed limit while driving. I panicked and drove away quickly. Later, when I went to inform my supervisor, I discovered that he had threatened two co-workers with the gun he had hid inside his jacket,” the bus driver testified.
The other two drivers confirmed their colleague’s statement.
A policeman told the court: “He (the suspect) purported that several reckless and speeding drivers angered him, and that was when he decided to use that method to coerce them to drive slowly,” said the policeman.