Ex-employee tried to kill his former boss, Dubai court hears

Syrian M D entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of attempted murder, telling the presiding judge he acted in self defence.

DUBAI // A disgruntled man tried to strangle his former employer with an electrical cord in a car park after he refused to give him his old job, a court was told.

At Dubai Criminal Court on Monday, Syrian M D entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of attempted murder, telling the presiding judge that he acted in self defence.

“He assaulted me first. It was in self defence,” the 30-year-old driver said.

Prosecutors said M D was fired from his job and had requested several times to be reinstated. However his employer, Jordanian A K, refused.

According to court records, M D waited for A K to leave his office on August 10 last year before attacking him.

“M D was hired as a driver with a salary of Dh4,000, but I had to let him go because he was not committed to his job. He used to come to me once in a while requesting financial assistance and to get his old job back,” the 71-year-old victim said.

On the day of the attack, A K left the office at 9pm and went to the car park of his building. “While I was closing the car door, M D appeared with his hands behind his back in a suspicious way.

“He demanded that I reinstate him immediately, which I refused,” A K said.

When the Jordanian tried to start his car, M D punched him, wrapped electrical wire around his neck and tried to choke him.

“I started punching him on the face and I put my fingers in his eyes so that I could remove the cable from around my neck,” A K said.

Police officer A M, 37, told prosecutors that M D also attacked A K with a sharp metal object he had in his pocket.

“The victim gave the defendant Dh2,000 to stop the assault, but M D continued hitting him, saying that he will get the death sentence for killing him,” A M said.

According to police, M D stole two wallets and a mobile phone before fleeing the scene in A K’s Mercedes-Benz.

Medical reports showed that the Jordanian suffered severe injuries to his face, causing him a permanent 8 per cent disability.

The case was adjourned until June 1.