Salesmen who broke customer’s nose in row over abaya jailed for 3 months

Pair attacked man who flew into rage when they said the abaya he was trying to take back was not from their shop.

DUBAI // Two salesmen will spend three months in jail each for 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 Afghan and Pakistani defendants, aged 25 and 36, were convicted of assaulting the customer by punching him on the face and breaking his nose.

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 earlier this month and said they had acted in self-defence after the customer insulted them then used a metal bar to attack them.

The pair will be deported after serving their jail terms.