Three accused of firebomb attack

The men threw a Molotov cocktail into a female officer's garden after a disagreement with her brother.

DUBAI // Three men threw a Molotov cocktail into a female police officer's garden after a disagreement with her brother, a court was told.

FA, 31, returned from work to see a man standing in front of her family's villa in Al Wasl holding a glass bottle. As she moved closer she saw him holding a white cloth. Smoke was rising from the villa's garden and a second man was leaving the property. Both men fled towards a car parked about 30 metres away. FA chased after them, but they escaped, the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance was told.

KI, 27, an unemployed man without legal identification papers, yesterday pleaded not guilty to arson. He and AA, 19, and AH, 22, both unemployed Emiratis, are accused of damaging the garden of the villa. The officer's brother, HA, 18, said he was sitting with his family in the living room when he heard his mother scream that the entrance to their home was on fire. He ran out and saw two men fleeing as his sister chased after them in her car, he told the court.

A police officer called to investigate the incident said FA identified AH in a lineup. AA and AH confessed to the crime and said they had a dispute with FA's brother, the court was told. They also said KI was not with them, although they acknowledged using his car. The court summoned AA and AH, who were not notified of the proceedings, to the next hearing, which is scheduled for November 1.