Road rage tourists punched lorry driver in the face, Dubai court told

The Bahranis were driving on Sheikh Zayed Road from Abu Dhabi in May last year when their car overtook a lorry before swerving in front of it, forcing the 59-year-old Pakistani driver to slam on his brakes to avoid an accident.

DUBAI// Three tourists repeatedly punched a lorry driver in the face in a fit of road-rage, Dubai Criminal Court heard yesterday.

The Bahrainis were travelling in a car to Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road from Abu Dhabi last May. The driver overtook a lorry before swerving in front of it, forcing the lorry driver, a 59-year-old Pakistani, to brake sharply to avoid an accident.

“After the driver overtook me, I moved to another lane and asked why he did it,” said the Pakistani, adding that he stopped his lorry by the roadside to talk to the defendants, who are between 21 and 31 years old.

“One of them came and punched me in the face repeatedly. I lost my balance and fell to the ground. The other two started kicking me on my right leg. They then fled and I reported the incident to the police,” said the Pakistani.

A police officer said a witness pointed out the three defendants while the driver was taken to hospital.

“They wanted to file a complaint against the driver, but we confronted them with the eyewitness statement and medical report from the hospital and charged them with assault,” said the 28-year-old officer.

The driver suffered a fracture to his right leg in the incident.

The defendants failed to appear in court on Sunday and were charged in absentia with assault. A verdict is expected on May 30.