Prosecutors seek longer sentence for drink driver who killed Briton on Dubai road

DUBAI // Prosecutors have launched an appeal to increase the two-month prison sentence for a drink driver who killed a British tourist and then tried to flee the country.

The defendant admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol, but denied that he was responsible for the death of Gavin Duffy.

B T was convicted last month at Dubai Traffic Court of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing a person’s death and fleeing the scene of an accident.

He was sentenced to two months in jail, ordered to pay Dh150,000 blood money and had his driving licence suspended for six months.

The 29-year-old victim had been in the country for only two days when B T knocked him down as he was crossing Al Sufouh Road at 2am on November 23 last year.

The driver did not even brake after the accident and sped off. But an onlooker noted down his car licence-plate number and informed the police.

B T took his passport from his workplace in Jumeirah Lake Towers then tried to catch a flight out the country from Dubai International Airport. Police arrested him at the airport just before he boarded a flight to Beirut.

The victim was a quantity surveyor from the north east of England. Because he was not insured for his trip his relatives and friends had to launch a fundraising appeal to repatriate his body.

The next hearing will be on March 20 to allow for the defendant’s lawyer to present his written defence.

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