A man who tried to choke a policeman in Dubai has been sentenced to six months in prison. The Egyptian defendant, 42, attacked the officer while he was being escorted to a police vehicle for insulting others and drinking publicly during Ramadan. It is forbidden to eat or drink during daylight hours throughout the holy month, in which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Police were called to Tiara Residences on The Palm Jumeirah on May 5 after the man had verbally abused cleaning staff. “We arrived around 10am and saw him walking outside with a cup of coffee in his hand,” the Emirati policeman, 24, told Dubai Criminal Court. “Instead of coming to the patrol car with us, he offered us some coffee.” The officers led the man to their car, which was parked in the basement, when he hit one of the policemen and tried to choke him. “While in the lift, the accused hit me and tried to choke me. When the lift opened, he fell on me,” said the policeman. In court, the defendant was charged with assaulting a police officer and eating publicly during Ramadan. He denied each charge but was convinced of both. He was sentenced him to six months in prison followed by deportation.
