Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A visitor who knifed a driver during a violent street fight will spend two years in jail, a court ruled on Sunday.

The Arab visitor, 40, started disputing with the Asian driver, 43, for no reason other than each one accusing the other of standing in front of him. They embroiled in a fracas with each telling the other to go away.

The dispute culminated into a fight during which the driver struck the visitor with an interlocking stone causing him injuries that forced him to abandon his duties for more than 20 days. It badly affected his left thumb.

The visitor pulled out a knife and stabbed the driver from the left cheek downward. He sustained a cut in his thyroid gland, total facial nerve paralysis, failure to close his left eye and paralysis of his mouth’s left muscle.

A medical report described the driver’s condition as a 20 per cent permanent deformity. Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s jury referred him to the Misdemeanours Court over the stone attack on the visitor.

At the Criminal Court on Sept.15, the visitor argued, “He was with two men. He assaulted me first.

“I picked up a glass and acted in self-defence. I did not use a knife.” The court jailed him for two years plus deportation.

In police and prosecution records, the visitor said he was standing in front of a building housing his apartment in Hor Al Anz when the driver arrived at around 12:30am wearing sun glasses and stood in front of him.

“He stood so close facing me. I asked him the reason he stood right in front of me. He shouted at me using words I didn’t understand. He was with a male accomplice.

The latter thrust a blow on the right side of my neck.

“On the other hand, the driver picked up an interlocking stone and hurled it at me, injuring my finger.

“I was left with no option but to defend myself. I picked up a piece of glass, struck him and left the scene.”

Before prosecutors, the driver narrated, “The visitor found me standing near the building where he stayed.

He started shouting at me to leave. I could smell alcohol on his breathe. I asked him what his problem was.

“He jabbed fingers into my eyes then pulled out a knife and hit the left part of my face, particularly under my chin.

“He tried knifing other parts but I resisted. The knife tore my clothes. I picked a stone and hit him, forcing him to flee.”