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29 March 2024

Pregnant woman left with dislocated jaw

Dispute over a table with a view led to the assault. Picture used for illustrative purposes only. (FILE)

Published
By Eman Al Baik

Three Emiratis are accused of physically assaulting and threatening a man and his pregnant wife over a table in a restaurant.

AAA, 52, businessman, MAA, 33 employee, and IAA, 43 employee are also accused of causing the woman jaw injuries that led to five per cent permanent disability. AAA is accused of threatening the couple.

On June 13, 2006, Ali Kitabi and his wife Bahara Behzadi, both Canadians, visited a restaurant in Festival City at 1.30 pm.

The couple sat at a table that had 12 seats. There were three children sitting on the other side of the table.

While the couple were having their lunch an Emirati approached them and said that the table has been booked and asked them to move.

Ali told the man: “When we finish having lunch we will move.”

When Ali did not listen, the man punched him on his head, in the back and the two other accused joined in beating the victim who fell on the ground. The men continued kicking him until the security staff intervened, the court heard.

Ali saw his pregnant wife was also on the ground bleeding and rushed her to the hospital, Ali testified.

Bahara testified that she told the man she is pregnant and cannot move to another table.

When she stood to stop the men beating up her husband, they punched her on the face and she fell down bleeding.

Zaid Raghdan, a Syrian, testified that while he was having lunch with Paul William, an Australian, he heard a verbal fight on the next table between the three Emiratis and the couple.

He also testified that the three men started beating the husband and when the wife intervened one of them punched her and sat on her to stop her from attempting to stop the other two from beating her husband.

After the security men controlled the three, the first accused threatened to kill the husband, added Raghdan.

Paul William testified that a friend who was accompanying him and Raghdan was also punched when he attempted to intervene.

The forensic report showed that the woman sustained an injury in the joints of her jaw due to the punch she received. The report said that the permanent joint defect she sustained is estimated at about 5 per cent.

Only IAA attended the first hearing and denied the accusation. The other two accused missed the hearing as they are in Saudi for performing Umrah, the defence lawyer told the court.

The defence lawyer asked the civil rights lawyer to specify the victim’s list of requests.

The Court adjourned the case until October 14.