Student jailed by Dubai court for deadly punch

DUBAI // A student who killed a man after punching him twice in the head in a disagreement over a photograph in August last year will spend the next two years in jail.

The 22-year-old Emirati was with a woman at a cafe in the One & Only Royal Mirage hotel near Dubai Marina when the Indian victim, who was there with his uncle and two friends, began taking pictures.

The defendant took exception to this and asked a waiter to tell them to stop. When they refused, he punched the victim in the head causing a fatal brain haemorrhage.

“He was upset and asked me to go to the victim and ask him to stop taking photos,” a 23-year-old Indian waiter told the Dubai Criminal Court, adding that when passed on the message the victim and his friends said they were only taking photos of themselves.

“I saw the Emirati approach the victim and ask him why he was taking pictures,” the waiter said. “The victim told him it was not his problem but the student did not calm down and accused him of shouting, then punched him to the head twice before the victim fell unconscious.”

The cafe’s 39-year-old manager intervened after hearing screams and pulled the student away from the injured man.

“I asked him why had he done that. He said the man took more than 60 pictures. I told him that he should have informed me instead,” the manager said, who called an ambulance and stopped the student from leaving.

The woman who was with the Emirati was allowed to go.

“He had a very weak pulse and I tried to resuscitate his heart,” said the manager who performed first aid on the victim. “Then the ambulance arrived and took him to hospital and I learnt later that he had passed away.”

A forensic report showed the victim died as a result of a brain haemorrhage caused by blows to the head.

The verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.