Detainee rubs chilli in policeman’s eyes

Hamza M. Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A detainee rubbed chilli in a policeman’s eyes in a dramatic scene that saw other unruly detainees lock up a detention facility warden.

The Arab defendant, 23, will spend six months in the dock for having rubbed chilli in the eyes of a Sudanese policeman inside Al Barsha Police Station. He beat him and pushed him, prosecutors revealed on Aug.4.

The incident happened after the policeman tried to return him inside the police station’s detention ward. The Dubai Criminal Court has convicted him of waging a violent attack on an on-duty police officer.

On the record, the policeman, 31, was on duty at around 4:30am with the detention facility’s officer in charge (a corporal). The latter called two detainees who were in charge of distributing meals to their fellows.

Both detainees (the defendant and another detainee) came out, examined the meals and counted them. Meanwhile, the corporal walked towards another ward. Both detainees finished examining the food. The policeman opened their ward’s door for them to return inside. The other detainee stood behind the door and distracted him with relentless questions. All of a sudden, the defendant attacked him from behind.

He clutched him and repeatedly rubbed two chilli peppers in his eyes. “I temporarily lost sight,” complained the policeman, “The other detainee seized me by the uniform and tried to shove me inside the ward.”

The policeman resisted and tried to pin down the detainee. A third detainee joined the attack that saw more detainees surrounding and kicking the policeman on various parts of his body. He cried out for help. The corporal intervened trying to stop them. He remained with the detainees and sent the policeman to the washroom to wash his eyes. “I was washing my eyes when I heard someone knocking on the door.

“It was the defendant. He told me to get out. I was astonished to find they had detained and locked the corporal inside an office. I subdued the defendant. He surrendered and opened for him,” said the policeman.