Man, 72, called police more than 900 times to play music, court told

He tells prosecutors he was drunk and taking medication that made him unaware of his actions.

DUBAI // An elderly man called the Dubai Police operations room more than 900 times and played music for officers who picked up the phone, a court heard this morning.

The Emirati man, YA, 72, was charged in the Dubai Misdemeanours Court with disturbing authorities and insulting policemen. He denied the accusations in court.

"I didn't disturb authorities, they disturbed me," YA told the court.

Prosecutors said that in November 2010 alone, he called the operations room 971 times from his mobile phone while in his Hor Al Anz residence. When the responding officer asked him to stop, he insulted him, prosecutors say.

The 29-year-old police officer JA testified that since the start of 2010, YA often called during his shift after midnight and played music.

"In other times he would just remain silent on the phone," JA said.

JA added that in November, the number of calls increased, so he asked YA to stop calling.

"He used inappropriate words to insult us," JA said, including calling the officers "dogs" and "animals".

The operations room filed a complaint against him at Al Qusais police station. YA was arrested on December 9, and his son bailed him out shortly afterwards.

The police officers said YA did not sound normal on the phone, so they suspected he was an alcoholic.

YA admitted that he often called while drunk. He said he couldn't remember the nature of the conversations he had with the officers, but recalled playing some songs.

He told investigators he also took medications that made him unaware of his actions.

"I was sick and did not know what I was doing; please consider that," he said in records.

YA signed an agreement to stop disturbing authorities, but did not stop, records show.

A verdict is expected on November 22.