DUBAI // A police major accused of breaking a man's leg in a fight was only defending a woman's honour, a court heard today.
JA, a 33-year-old Emirati, told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance that he was attending an event by an estate agency in Jumeirah in November 2010 when he saw two Moroccans - GA, a female 31-year-old, and MA, a male 38-year-old, involved in a tussle.
"I don't know her your honour, what I did was just to defend a woman in need," he told the court.
Prosecutors said he assaulted the man and broke his leg, leaving him with what they described as a permanent 15 per cent disability in the limb. MA was also charged with assault, for pulling the major's shirt.
Both men pleaded not guilty.
The woman said that MA pulled her arm while she was talking a group of people. "He was drunk, the smell of alcohol was strong," she said, adding that he left after her friends intervened, but returned later and began insulting her.
She said that the police major intervened when the man tried to hit her. She said the police major pushed the man after he pulled his shirt and the man fell to the floor.
"When police arrived he looked at me making a sign on his neck meaning that he would kill me," she said.
A verdict is expected on April 25.
salamir@thenational.ae
