A group of men assaulted a middle-aged man and severed his son's finger with a sword when he tried to stop them attacking his father, Dubai Criminal Court was told.
According to court records, the Iranian defendant, 27, sent multiple insulting and threatening messages to the 55-year-old retired Emirati man.
"He sent me several insults through WhatsApp and said that he wanted to beat me up," said the Emirati, who did not disclose the reason for their row.
The middle-aged man said that on February 21, last year, he received a message from the accused asking him where he was so he could assault him.
At almost 9pm that day, the Emirati met with the defendant who brought seven other men with him to Al Quoz.
"It was dark I couldn't see most of their faces, they attacked me then threw me to the ground before I saw the defendant walking back to his car and return holding a sword," said the man.
He said that just as the accused was about to hit him with the sword, his son arrived and came between them.
"The sword hit him on his hand chopping off one of his fingers," said the father.
The attackers fled and the father called police. An ambulance which took the 21-year-old son to hospital where he was told that he would live with 20 per cent permanent disability after losing his finger.
The accused was arrested a few days later in Umm Al Quwain.
“During questioning, he told me he assaulted the father and son because the father had previously insulted his mother,” a police officer said.
He said the man told him he did not regret the assault "he said he would cut off his head the next time."
The accused was charged with physical assault, causing permanent disability and issuing insults.
A verdict will be issued on May 27.
