Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation has upheld the death penalty for a 25-year-old man in a case of road rage that led to murder.
The Court of Appeals had earlier rejected the Public Prosecution’s murder charge against the defendant and changed it to ‘beating to death’. As a result, the defendant received a five-year jail term in addition to having to pay blood money to the 50-year-old victim’s family. However, the Public Prosecution appealed the ruling before the Court of Cassation, which upheld the death penalty.
The court found the defendant’s brother not guilty of murder despite having been found guilty by the lower courts.
According to records, the incident was sparked off by the victim not giving way to the defendant on a highway. The defendant, whose brother was also in the vehicle, overtook the victim’s car and slowed down, leading to a crash. The defendant then followed the victim to a nearby park and allegedly assaulted him. He sat on the victim’s chest, who responded by grabbing the defendant’s genitals. The defendant responded by raining blows to the victim’s head.
The defendant’s brother tried to break up the fight.
When the police arrived, they found the defendant in severe pain while the victim was walking around with blood on his face. Both men were rushed to hospital. The defendant eventually suffered paralysis on the right side of his body. The victim had to allegedly wait for 90 minutes in the emergency room for medical attention, and he died.
The defendant’s lawyers declared that their client did not intend on killing the victim as he only beat him after receiving a painful injury to his genitals. However, the argument did not compel the court enough to lower the charges. The court observed that it was sufficient that the defendant’s attacks were carried out with the intent of aggression.
The victim’s family had insisted on the death penalty
