A court in Dubai has ordered an Egyptian man to pay Dh40,000 ($10,890) in compensation for assaulting a man and causing emotional distress to a dog.
The man, 32, assaulted the dog's owner in the street.
The Egyptian man, who had returned home from work, was chasing after his cat that had escaped into the street.
The man passed by the victim, a Jordanian student, 19, who was walking his dog.
He heard the student say to the dog that the cat was afraid of it, which led to the man insulting the teenager and assaulting him.
The man's wife and brother-in-law ran out of a nearby house but failed to stop the assault.
The man ripped off the student's jacket and shirt and knocked him to the ground.
The incident led to the dog running away from home. It returned the following day in a state of distress.
Court documents showed there had been a previous dispute between the neighbours, which was reconciled in a police station.
The Egyptian man was charged with insulting and physically assaulting the dog owner on September 7 last year in Al Rashidiya area of Dubai.
He admitted to the offences at Dubai Court of Misdemeanours and was fined Dh5,000 in November.
After the conviction, the dog owner filed a civil case seeking compensation.
“My client was shamed by what happened and emotionally affected after he was assaulted in public in front of his residence," said his lawyer, Mohammed Najeeb.
“His dog, too, was affected. When the accident happened the dog ran away and disappeared for about 24 hours, then when found it refused to eat or drink and my client had to take it to a vet clinic.”
The civil case was referred to the Dubai courts’ reconciliation centre, which reached an agreement on April 21 under which the offender was ordered to pay Dh40,000 in compensation. The man was also ordered to pay Dh1,000 in legal fees.
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