DUBAI // A policeman threatened to kill his wife after she reported his abusive behaviour, a court has heard.
The 26-year-old woman told prosecutors that her husband, also 26, often hit her and that she reported him to police after a particularly violent episode in which he assaulted her with his fists and a stick. It followed a row over the air conditioning at their house in the Hatta area.
She said her husband threatened to kill her if she did not drop the complaint. The husband denied threatening or insulting her, saying that she made the complaint in an effort to get custody of their two children.
A policewoman gave evidence that she knew the couple and that the husband often assaulted his wife. She said the husband had signed two previous undertakings to stop assaulting her. The policewoman said that following the most recent incident she visited the wife at home and saw her injuries and bruises.
The husband said that he too had been abused - his wife had beaten him up and thrown plates at him on May 3 this year. The wife denied the charge.
The Misdemeanour Court, which is hearing the assault charge against the wife, adjourned the case to August 30. The husband was referred to the criminal court on the threatening to kill charge.
The couple, who are Emirati, have been married for four years.
