Three pilots deported over nightclub brawl

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

Three pilots who battered two men during a row over a bottle of water inside a Dubai nightclub must be deported, the Dubai Appeals Court has ruled.

The Dutch defendant, 42, Spanish colleague, 43, and the latter’s countryman, 43, battered a Lebanese sales manager, 35. One of them smashed a glass on his head, prosecutors explained during a hearing on Mar.17.

The defendant pounced on him, restrained him and enabled the others to rain kicks on him. He sustained multiple injuries. They unintentionally caused him a 5 per cent permanent deformity, prosecutors told the jury.

They battered a Lebanese director, 34, and kicked him as well. He sustained injuries that took more than 20 days to heal. During court questioning, they rebuffed the accusations but admitted abusing alcohol.

The director was accused of alcohol abuse, a charge he confessed to. The Criminal Court caged the pilots for three months to be followed by deportation. It referred the alcohol abuse charges to the Misdemeanours Court.

The pilots appealed seeking to challenge the decision. However, the Dubai Appeals Court suspended the three-month prison term. However, it ordered they be deported.

In police and prosecution records, the pilots were sitting at a table in a Marina area hotel’s nightclub when the director picked a bottle of water from it. They charged at him, pushed him and kicked him repeatedly.

“They assaulted me on various parts of my body,” he complained. He sustained a dislocated shoulder and torn muscle. He underwent physical therapy sessions for a period of six months for his shoulder area to heal. On his part, the manager complained, “The defendants suddenly attacked us. I did not know the reason. One smashed a glass on my head. I bled. The Dutchman sat on my chest while the others kicked me.

“I got a cut on the head as a result of the glass strike. I also got two fractures in my right foot.” A forensic department report revealed the fractures resulted in the 5 per cent permanent deformity.