DUBAI // A nightclub waiter who pushed a drunk customer out of the way, causing him to fall down a flight of stairs and die, has been sentenced to two years in jail.
On August 31 last year at about 4am the victim, M A, was leaving a dance club at the Royalton Hotel in Deira.
“M A was leaving the bar and he was not walking straight as he was heavily drunk,” testified 38-year-old hotel security guard H S, from Egypt.
Egyptian waiter Y B, 38, arrived and wanted to leave but M A, whose nationality was not in court records, was blocking the exit. When Y B tried to walk out, M A pushed him so the Egyptian pushed him back and left the hotel, headed to the car park.
M A then staggered and fell down the stairs, landing on his face.
“I headed to him immediately and turned him [around]. His eyes were open but he was unconscious,” said H S, who noticed two injuries on M A’s head and nose.
As Y B left in his car, he saw a group surrounding M A so stopped and went over.
“‘What happened to him?’ Y B asked us,” said H S. “We told him he fell and he was surprised, saying ‘What, my push made him fall down?’”
An ambulance was called which took M A to hospital. Police then arrested Y B. He told officers that he did push the victim but it was not strong and he did not mean to cause any harm.
A forensic report showed that M A died of a spinal fracture.
Y B denied a charge of assault leading to death when he appeared at the Dubai Criminal Court last January.
However, he was convicted and will be deported after serving his two-year sentence.
salamir@thenational.ae
