ABU DHABI // An Emirati man accused of drink driving today told a court he had recently returned from Scotland and was confused about which side of the road to drive on.
The man, OM, admitted drinking alcohol. "I'm really sorry. I had a very tough time my father had just passed away." he told the criminal court,
"So what? You thought it was a chance to drink?" Chief Justice Sayed Abdul Baseer, head of the court, replied.
The man said he knew this was "no excuse" and repeated that he was sorry, saying that it was the first time he had got drunk in his life.
He was also accused of taking cocaine after traces of the drug were found in his urine.
"I have no idea how it got into my system," he said. "I confess to drinking but I never had cocaine in my life."
The judge challenged this assertion, pointing out that his urine sample showed clear traces of the drug, but the man insisted he had no idea why this should be.
"Maybe someone put it in my drink... I travelled to many countries before arriving here."
MM, an Egyptian woman who was in the car at the time of his arrest, was also accused of drinking alcohol, but said that she was unaware that there was alcohol in her drink.
The judge asked the woman how she knew the man and she replied that they had been at school together. The judge then scolded her for riding in his car alone.
"I did not have a car so he offered to drop me off - my house was two minutes away," she said.
"Here is not like Egypt, do you understand?" the judge yelled at her.
Her defence lawyer said she was quite young and not aware of the consequences of her actions. "She thought it was simple - she just had a Red Bull."
The case was adjourned until July 30.
hdajani@thenational.ae
