Pilot ‘has face cut with razor blade after fighting intruder at his Dubai home’

DUBAI // A 54-year-old pilot was slashed across the face with a razor blade after chasing an intruder from his home in the early hours of the morning.

The Irish victim heard noises coming from the kitchen at his home in Al Safa at around 3.30am on December 24 and thought it was his son preparing a snack.

“I called his name but he didn’t respond so I headed to the kitchen and saw a masked man holding my wife’s purse trying to get out of the kitchen door,” said the home owner, who screamed at the intruder and chased him out in to the street where an SUV was waiting.

“When the driver saw me, he drove off leaving his accomplice who fell to the ground so I grabbed him and we started fighting,” said the victim, who managed to remove the trespasser’s mask.

The man then took out a razor blade and slashed the pilot 15 times before running off.

The victim’s daughter called the police and an ambulance took her father to Rashid Hospital.

Police were able to track down the intruder and his accomplice. One man was arrested at his home while the other was already in police custody for a traffic offence.

Two Emiratis, aged 24 and 30, appeared in Dubai Criminal Court charged with burglary. One of them is also charged with trespassing and physical assault while the other is separately charged with aiding and abetting. They both denied all charges.

The pilot was left with multiple scars to his face.

The next hearing will be on May 29.