Delay for taxi driver on trial for attempted murder

DUBAI // A taxi driver charged with attempted murder after assaulting one of three men accused of robbing him must wait for further deliberations before his verdict is delivered.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday delayed judgment in the case of MI after asking prosecutors to present the victim to a medical examiner, and requesting a report.

The 28-year-old Pakistani appeared along with his alleged assailants: an Emirati student, SM, 20; his unemployed compatriot HM, 29; and Iranian trader KA, 21, all of whom were charged with theft.

MI's cab was flagged down on November 28 last year by three men in the Rashidiya district. The men asked him to go to Mirdif, records showed. When he reached the district, he was asked to stop the car in a poorly lighted area, MI told prosecutors.

One of the passengers came out of the cab and hit the driver on the face, neck and chest while another held him from behind, choking him. The third man stole his wallet from his shirt pocket, as well as his mobile phone, court records showed.

The enraged driver chased the men to a nearby area of villas. He caught up with SM and HM, who brandished a medium-sized pocket knife and jumped at him, knocking him to the ground.

"I found a shovel next to me and swiped SM on the face with it," MI told prosecutors.

Records showed that the driver beat SM unconscious with the shovel, landing him in the hospital. HM ran away.

A Jordanian resident of the area told prosecutors that MI asked him to call police while pulling the unconscious SM by one leg and beating him. "He was hitting him on his legs, head and face while he lay passed out on the ground," the resident said.

The court will hear closing arguments on January 16.