DUBAI // A labourer caused his roommate’s death after he complained about the light from his mobile phone keeping him awake, a court heard yesterday.
Prosecutors at the Criminal Court said that on the evening of September 4 last year Hadramout Khan insisted that Pakistani N G turn off his phone because he wanted to sleep. The row escalated into a physical fight and N G, 44, who denies causing Khan’s death, pushed the victim off his bed on to the floor.
Soon after, Khan started complaining of chest pains and breathing difficulties.
“It was 8.30pm when a fellow worker came to me and told me that Khan was not feeling well,” testified their colleague, K K, 44, also from Pakistan.
“He asked me to hurry, so we both rushed to him and I called him by his name but he couldn’t answer me.”
K K left the room to change his clothes so he could drive him to hospital but Khan was dead by the time he returned.
When police arrived at the labour camp in the Al Quoz Industrial area, they found Khan still lying on his bed.
“We suspected the death wasn’t because of natural causes because we saw bruises on the man’s neck and bleeding coming from his nose,” said Emirati lieutenant A A, 26.
A medical report said the victim had a heart attack caused by the stress of the fight.
The next hearing will be on May 12.
salamir@thenational.ae