Sharjah teenagers jailed for hacking off man's hand with machete during fight

Pair will serve one year and face Dh90,000 fine

Two teenagers have been sentenced to one year in prison for hacking off the hand of a young man with a machete during an argument in Sharjah.

The defendants told Sharjah Criminal Court that weapons were used during the altercation and that many people had been involved in the fight, which took place near Al Khezamia Park.

One, identified as AA, said that he had been sitting with friends when a group arrived, including the man who would lose his hand, and that they had started the fight. AA said that although he had been carrying a machete, he did not attack the man but had acted in self-defence.

A witness told the court that he had been with the victim at the time of the incident, but that he did not know what had started the fight.

He said that AA was in a group of 18 people and AA had been holding a machete. The witness said he did not know the victim had been attacked until he needed to be taken to hospital, and that they drove with the man bleeding and holding his dismembered right hand.

The victim was admitted to Rashid Hospital in Dubai, where his hand was reattached after more than three hours of surgery.

The court also fined the teens Dh90,000 for causing a permanent disability.