Salam Al Amir
Dubai // Two teenagers beat up a youth at a party after he offered a girl a cigarette, a court heard.
Canadian A S, 19, was held down and punched on the head, abdomen and body, resulting in him bleeding from his mouth.
Other guests at the party encouraged the attackers and recorded the assault on their smartphones, a witness said.
The victim said he attended the party at a villa in Arabian Ranches on April 20.
He met a girl in the garden who asked him for a cigarette, which he gave her and left.
He was followed by American student N L, 17, who started punching him.
“He told me I disrespected him at his own house,” said the victim.
He said British student K A, 17, and another boy then joined in, and he was thrown to the ground.
“N L restrained me while two other guys threw several punches to my head and abdomen and all over my body. I even bled from the mouth,” he said.
A witness said guests at the party started screaming “fight, fight” and encouraged the assailants to continue so that they could record the brawl on their phones.
The victim reported the incident to police the following morning.
The American said the victim arrived at the party drunk, caused a disturbance and broke some items in the villa before he pushed him.
“Out of fear I punched him on the face twice,” he said.
The Briton said he apologised to the victim at the party.
The victim denied that he was drunk and said his attackers had been drinking alcohol.
Prosecutors saw the video of the fight but the American said it had been fabricated and that the victim had deleted the parts which showed him starting the fight.
The teenagers were convicted of assault at Dubai Juveniles Court. The judge ordered that they be reprimanded and then handed over to their parents.
The other boy involved in the fight, a 19-year-old, was referred to the Misdemeanours Court to face the same charge.
salamir@thenational.ae
