One-year sentence for cable theft, assault

DUBAI // A worker and a driver who assaulted a security guard in an electric cable theft were sentenced to a year in prison by the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance this morning.

SA and KA, both 20 and from Pakistan, entered a construction site in Al Rawiya area about 10pm in July 2010. There, they attacked the guard, PM, 48, Indian, with a metal bar, then tried to strangle him with a cable.

They have denied the charges.

PM told prosecutors he begged them to spare his life and promised not to report the theft to police. Soon afterwards, a pickup truck arrived and three men started loading cables and other items from the site, records said.

He said he saw the men in the pickup pay SA and KA, who also asked for Dh500 so PM could go to the hospital.

PM memorised the last two digits of the car plate number before running to a neighbouring building and reporting the theft.

Sharjah police arrested the defendants three days later on other theft charges and referred them to Dubai police, who contacted PM to identify them, records said.

Prosecutors said that the defendants confessed during investigations.

salamir@thenational.ae