Man who divorced wife of 10 years over text message appeals against Dubai fine

The man was found guilty of assault after flying into a rage when he found a text message from a strange man to his wife of 10 years.

DUBAI // A man who assaulted and divorced his wife of ten years over a text message she received from a strange man is appealing against his Dh1,000 fine.

SA, 28, was previously found guilty by the Misdemeanours Court of beating his wife while in a rage after discovering a suspicious message on her phone and the contact number of a mysterious man referred to as "The Captain".

The court heard the pair had been alone in their hotel room when the husband saw the message and accused his wife of cheating on him.

Prosecutors said the Emirati couple, who have two children together, were enjoying a "quiet night away from home" at the Grand Hyatt this March 8 when the wife's phone rang, indicating the receipt of a message.

The husband looked at the screen and became enraged when he noticed it was from a man named Khalid who he did not know.

Snatching the phone from her grasp he checked her contacts book and found another man he did not know - referred to in her contact book as "The Captain".

"I told her to go to her family's house and never return to mine. I said I would send her the divorce papers there," recalled the husband who stormed off leaving his wife at the hotel room.

Ten days later the husband was called by police and informed his wife had lodged a complaint against him, claiming he had assaulted her and insulted her honour.

"When we arrived at the hotel room, he grabbed me by my hair, beat me up with his hands and threw my mobile at my head before banging my head to the wall," claimed the wife MA, 40, who added that her husband often accused her of cheating on him.

She said that on some occasions he would ask his friends to call her and flirt to see if she would flirt back.

"I would always hang up the phone and never give any man a chance," said the woman, adding that her husband had often beaten her in the past.

The wife gave prosecutors a medical report that showed she suffered bruises and scratches to her left cheek.

"That's just an attempt by her to cover her bad behaviour," the husband told the court.

The Appeals Court is expected to deliver a verdict on August 27.