Salesmen ‘broke nose of customer who wanted to replace abaya bought from their shop’

Two men are in the dock on assault charges but they say the garment was not bought from their shop in Naif and that they only acted in self-defence.

DUBAI // Two salesmen are accused of breaking the nose of a customer who wanted to replace an abaya bought from their shop.

The customer, 37, was returning the garment to a shop at Naif Market on December 21 last year but got into an argument with the salesmen, who said the item was not from their shop.

“I returned to the shop where the two men work and we argued regarding the abaya that I bought and wanted to replace,” said the customer, an Egyptian driver. “Then the argument escalated and they attacked me.”

The Afghani and Pakistani defendants, aged 25 and 36, are charged with physical assault by punching the man on the face and breaking his nose, leaving him with a 1 per cent permanent disability.

A security guard at Naif Market testified that he saw the men argue over the abaya.

“The salesmen insisted that the abaya was not from their shop, then the customer got furious and insulted the salesmen and threw the clothes in the shop on the floor, after which they engaged in a fight,” said the Egyptian security guard, 39.

The pair denied assault charges at Dubai Criminal Court on Monday and said they had acted in self-defence after the customer insulted them then used a metal bar to attack them.

A verdict is expected on May 25.