DUBAI // A German manager threatened to poison his American girlfriend, disfigure her face, chop her into pieces, then kill her entire family if she did not leave the UAE, Dubai Court of Misdemeanours has heard.
B B, 27, denied charges of issuing threats and of physical assault, though he was convicted of the latter.
Prosecutors said that the German made the threats after assaulting American tennis trainer T S at her Jumeirah villa on July 6.
“I have been living in the UAE for eight years,” said the woman, who works at a sports academy in Dubai.
She said she met B B, a manager at an air-conditioning systems company, about a year ago and he moved in with her after claiming that he did not have enough money to rent his own place.
“Two weeks ago his behaviour with me changed and, on the day of the incident, we had an argument in the morning during which he slapped me, dragged me from my hair all the way to the bathroom then wrapped the blow dryer’s cord around my neck,” said the woman.
“He told me: ‘It’s just normal, I can kill you and cut you into little pieces’.”
T S said he continued to treat her badly, beat her up and also threaten to harm her for four days. She got fed up and left the house to stay with a friend before reporting him to police.
“He said that I have only three days to get out of the UAE or he would kill me,” the American said.
When she tried to return to her home he did not let her in and threatened her again. “I was so scared of him and his threats that I had to change my work, residence and even my car,” she added.
The German denied his girlfriend’s allegations, saying she made it all up because he decided to marry another woman.
“I didn’t assault her or threaten her or even live with her,” he said, telling police that they met when he started getting tennis lessons at the academy where she worked.
Dubai Court of Misdemeanours convicted B B with assault and fined him Dh2,000, while he was acquitted from charges of issuing threats to kill.
Both parties appealed the verdict and will stand before Dubai Court of Appeal on November 3.
salamir@thenational.ae