Man disfigured in hotel brawl over woman

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A man who intervened to break a fight between a harasser and a woman’s boyfriend ended up having severe injuries, a jury heard on Monday.

The boyfriend (an Arab employee, 26) was sued along with his workmate, 25, a manager, 21, and an unemployed countryman, 25, for assaulting the Emirati victim, 22, leaving him with a 15 per cent permanent deformity.

The countryman battered the victim’s friend –an Emirati policeman, 19.

The countryman and the boyfriend’s workmate pelted the victim and his friend with insults.

The incident took place  inside a hotel in Al Gharhoud area.

The victim underwent an operation to attach a metal plate to his skull. They denied.

Prosecutors demanded the Criminal Court to hand them the toughest punishment applicable. The hearing continues on Oct.31.

On the record, the victim and his friends were inside the hotel’s café around 5:30am. They saw the defendants disputing with a man who allegedly harassed the girlfriend.

“I stepped in trying to calm them down. I returned to my table and sat with my friends,” said the victim.

“We were leaving when we found them disputing with the same man and his colleagues at the reception. The hotel’s guards kicked them outside"

“They started fighting outside the hotel. I and my friends intervened. However, they beat us as well. The brawl seemed to have ended. I went to the parking lot to drive away with my friend, the policeman.”

Before both could enter the car, the defendants came running towards them. The workmate insulted the victim and picked a paving stone. The boyfriend and the manager surround him to stop him from leaving.

The countryman seized and kicked him from behind while the workmate hit his head with the stone. He collapsed bleeding from the head, nose and mouth. They fled the scene. His friends rushed him to hospital.

He suffered a skull fracture and internal haemorrhage. “I still feel pains and frequent headache,” he complained adding, “The defendants thought the man who allegedly harassed their female friend was our friend.”

The policeman gave a similar testimony and said, “The defendants demanded to know why we harassed their friend. We told them we didn’t. Guards took us outside. The countryman punched my head and insulted me.

“I calmed him and we separated. However, they pursued us in the hotel’s parking lot.” A police officer said the defendants upon arrest said the victim and his friends had harassed the employee’s girlfriend.

They additionally argued that the victim and his friends insulted them and followed them to the parking lot. A fight broke out.