'Police told us to chase' say brothers accused of road rage murder

One of two brothers tells Abu Dhabi criminal court that the victim knocked their car while overtaking them and that police told them to chase the motorist and stop him if they could.

ABU DHABI // Two Emirati brothers accused of murdering a 52-year-old man in a road rage attack told a court today that police had asked them to give chase to his vehicle.

One of the two brothers, MS, told the criminal court that the man had knocked their car while overtaking them and that when they reported this to police they were told to chase the motorist and stop him if they could.

He said that they did this and that he walked over to talk to the motorist "gently" but the man responded "with aggression and violence" and that a fight ensued between him and the man.

When the judge asked if the man appeared normal, the brother replied: "No, his tongue was heavy, he was slow to understand and his behaviour was very aggressive."

The other brother, HS, said he was waiting by the car when his brother approached the man. When he saw the fight break out he went to intervene but other bystanders had already stopped the fight by the time he reached them.

"When I reached them the fight was already over and then I called the police, this is registered in the records," he said.

"I don't have any history of getting drunk or taking drugs, and my sight is perfect - I just did a test before starting a new job," he added.

He said he could not be held accountable for the man's death, as he had not taken part in the fight.

The man was taken to hospital after the fight, where he died unexpectedly. A doctor ruled that the death was a result of the fight.

The first brother, MS, claims to have been left "half paralysed" by the injuries he sustained during the fight and attended the hearing in a bed.

However, the lawyer representing the dead man's family said the two brothers were merely playing the role of victims - "just like Prophet Joseph's brothers who went crying to their father after they threw him in the well".

"The victim was an older man who suffered diabetes, he [left his vehicle] to use the toilet," he said.

The case was adjourned until December 11. The dead man's relatives have requested the death sentence.