DUBAI // One of four women sentenced to jail for insulting and assaulting a taxi driver while under the influence of alcohol was handed a reduced sentence by Dubai Court of Appeal on Sunday.
A S, a 38-year-old Moroccan, was given a six-month jail term for the incident at a petrol station in Al Barsha in October last year by Dubai Misdemeanours Court. On Sunday, the court of appeal cut her sentence to three months.
She was referred to court with three others after a video clip appeared on social media that showed them attacking A A, an Ethiopian driver.
A A said the women screamed at him when he told them that they were not allowed to smoke in the taxi. When they refused to stop, he asked to be paid. They then told him to drive to a petrol station.
He did so, but they refused to pay and attacked him.
According to court records, A S insulted A A by calling him an animal and she hit him with her high-heel shoes. She denied doing that but admitted to drinking without a licence.
The women were charged with drinking alcohol without a licence and assault, as well as insulting a civil servant, a policeman who was called to the scene.
The misdemeanours court sentenced M A, 24, K A, 36, and M F, 24, to a month in jail each.
The court of appeal upheld the order to deport A S when she completes her sentence.
A S, a divorcee who has legal custody of her two children with her former Emirati husband, had asked the judges to rescind the deportation order, claiming that her former spouse was incapable of raising their children.
salamir@thenational.ae
