Two deny blame for asthmatic jail death

Two men deny manslaughter arising from the death of a third who had an asthma attack during a fight in a police station.

DUBAI // Two men yesterday denied manslaughter arising from the death of a third who had an asthma attack during a fight in a police station. MG, a 19-year-old Yemeni, and HA, 20, a "bidoon" or UAE man without national status, were appearing before the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance as a result of the incident, which occurred on February 24 when they were in custody at the Bur Dubai Rashidiya police station.

According to a report from the Public Prosecutor's Office, MG and HA had demanded cigarettes and juice from two Filipino prisoners returning with supplies from the jail's store. When these were refused, they had started an altercation during which one of the Filipinos, Tiesto Evadon, collapsed, calling for his asthma inhaler, and was dead by the time guards got to him. A post-mortem examination established that his death had been caused by a combination of the asthma and heart failure, which the coroner attributed to the fight.

Both MG and HA admitted to Judge Saeed Barghouth that they had been in a physical struggle with the victim, but said it was not their fault that he suffered from asthma and a weak heart. Judge Barghouth said he would rule on the case at a later date. [e-mail]