DUBAI// An Indian charged with killing his compatriot by kicking him in the head after a drunken argument has been sentenced to five years in jail.
S J, 23, was not present at Dubai Criminal Court last month to enter a plea against a charge of physical assault that led to the death of R H.
Prosecutors said that on August 15 last year, the defendant, the victim and two other men were at their accommodation where they had been drinking alcohol since morning.
S J and the victim were heard arguing and insulting each other.
“I had just returned to the room to find all four men including the victim and the defendant drunk,” testified Indian R S, 24. “There were two empty bottles of alcohol near them and the room was a mess so I asked them to ... clean it.”
He said that after cleaning the room the men returned and started insulting the victim. “Two of the men pushed him and when he fell on the floor, S J kicked him strongly on the head,” added the witness.
The injured man was bleeding, shuddering and making strange sounds when breathing.
The accommodation’s nurse was called and he immediately called for an ambulance and reported the matter to police. By the time the ambulance arrived, R H was dead.
Police arrested S J. At first he denied doing anything wrong and accused the two other men of assaulting and killing R H.
“He said that R H slapped him so he returned the slap which made R H lose balance and fall, hitting his head on the edge of the bed,” testified Emirati policeman M M, 29.
A forensics report said the cause of R H’s death was a skull fracture and a cut to the cerebral artery. S J will be deported after completing his jail term.
salamir@thenational.ae
