Labourer is charged with killing colleague after striking his head

DUBAI // A labourer was charged yesterday with causing the death of his colleague after striking him on the head during a fight.

The Indian defendant, FM, 21, was charged with accidentally killing another Indian man, MJ, in July after a heated argument at a construction site.

Two other colleagues, AJ, 21, and SS, 35, were accused of giving police false information when officers were investigating.

According to Public Prosecution records, FM and MJ were arguing at the Al Barari development when FM struck MJ, causing him to fall off balance and hit his head on a metal rod sticking out of the ground. He later died at the site.

"When we arrived to investigate and question the two men, they initially claimed that they have seen nothing and do not know what happened," an investigating officer said in court records. "After we took them to the station, AJ claimed that they heard screams and saw FM and MJ fighting and intervened to stop the fight."

In their statements, the men said that after they held back FM, he broke loose and sucker-punched MJ, who fell.

"He bled from his mouth, but then got up and walked away," AJ testified in court yesterday.

A forensic report said MJ's head hit a metal object that cracked his skull and caused brain swelling, which eventually killed him.

All the defendants denied the charges yesterday, and will appear in court to present their defences on January 13.