Fight at hotel after 'indecent' insults

Emirati accused four Egyptians of attack at hotel in the ccapital.

ABU DHABI // Four Egyptians accused of beating and insulting an Emirati at a hotel were given suspended sentences after the man dropped his case against them.

The Egyptians received their six-month suspended sentences at Abu Dhabi Criminal Court yesterday.

The Emirati, accused of drinking alcohol and insulting and hitting one of the Egyptians, was given a Dh500 fine and a suspended sentence for the alcohol charge.

He had filed a lawsuit against the four men, accusing them of breaking his leg. He said one of them hit him on the chest, while two others insulted him with "indecent" words.

The Egyptians denied the charges and said the Emirati broke his leg while running away from the hotel's bar without paying his bill. They asked for CCTV footage to be shown.

The Emirati denied those allegations but admitted drinking alcohol. Although he had refused to drop the lawsuit in a previous hearing, he later made peace with the men outside the courtroom and asked for the case to be dropped.

The verdict was announced a mere two days after the case was heard at the criminal court because one of the defendants had been fired from his job as a security guard and could not stay in the country to wait for the verdict.