Man stabs fellow worker after angry altercation, court hears

Man knifed colleague after being attacked with a wooden stick

A man snatched a knife out of a fellow worker's hand and then stabbed him after an angry row, a Dubai court heard.

The two Afghani men, both 23, were involved in a violent altercation sparked by a third man at their accommodation in Al Marmoum, Dubai, who had been using inappropriate language.

The defendant - who was among the workers offended by the language used - became embroiled in a row and was attacked with a wooden stick by two other men.

"When one of the defendants said that such words are inappropriate and should not be used, two others argued with him and then a fight started, but we managed to break it on the spot, however they attacked him later the same night with a wooden stick," said an Afghani driver, 32.

He said that following the assault, he told the attackers they should consider changing their accommodation. "I told them we were all there to make a living not cause problems," said the driver.

Minutes later, the defendant and one of his attackers were seen fighting again in front of their accommodation room.

He grabbed the knife from the other man - injuring his hand in the process - and stabbed his colleague with it.

"I was awoken by the screams of my colleagues, when I ran outside to check, I saw one man bleeding and another holding the knife," said a worker, who called the police.

The injured man was rushed to hospital while his assailant was arrested and allegedly admitted to an attempted murder charge during police questioning.

The injured man was charged with physically assaulting his compatriot.

Both men failed to appear in court on Sunday morning.

The next hearing is due to be heard on on September 9.