Dubai alcohol bootlegger jailed for assaulting policeman

Filipino said his hand accidentally touched the officer’s face but the man ended up in hospital

One of four bootleggers accused of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer has been convicted.

Dubai Criminal Court found the 28-year-old Filipino defendant guilty of assault and resisting arrest while his three countrymen were cleared of resisting arrest charges.

On December 24, the four men, aged between 28 to 47, were taken into custody but only after they resisted five police officers trying to arrest them for selling alcohol.

“We were tipped off about them selling alcohol in Ras Al Khor and the officers, myself included, were dispatched immediately,” said a policeman, 36.

Two officers posed as buyers, he said, and one of the defendants sold them beer that was hidden under a truck.

“The two officers then identified themselves, which made the suspects run. We chased them, our colleague caught up with them and was assaulted,” the officer added.

Read more: Alcohol bootlegger 'hit policeman while resisting arrest'

The suspects were not arrested that day but the plate number of the vehicle they drove was written down by the officer. The car was found two days later and it helped police locate them.

“They resisted arrest on December 24 but we were able to take them into custody,” said a police lieutenant, 39.

The convicted man denied charges when he appeared in court in June. He told judges that he didn’t do anything to the policeman and his hand accidentally touched the officer’s face, even though he had punched the officer.

“The policeman ended up in hospital,” the judge told the defendant on Wednesday. The man was sentenced to six months in jail, to be followed by deportation, while the three others will walk free.