Prisoner attempted suicide by setting fire to cell

A detainee allegedly made a fire in Al Faqaa police station in an attempt to commit suicide, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

ADS, 22, is also accused of posing a threat to the lives of police staff, destroying police property worth  about Dh69,000 and attempting to kill himself.

Second Lieutenant Khalifa Juma testified that the accused was the only detainee in the police station. “He used to ask to be transferred to Bur Dubai Police Station. On August 4, he asked me for a cigarette but I refused to give it to him. Half an hour later, I saw on a monitor camera that flames were coming out of the cell. I rushed with my colleagues and pulled the accused out who was standing under the shower,” he said.
Civil Defence staff were rushed and the fire put out.  The accused had attempted to commit suicide earlier by cutting his hand’s blood vessels as his request to be transferred to Bur Dubai police station was refused.

It was proved that the accused had used his underwear to make the fire. The accused demanded a cigarette in return for telling the police what happened.  “As his request was not met, he did not tell how and why he made the fire,” a police officer testified.

First Sergeant Samir Saleh testified that the accused is in a normal condition and that he might have been trying to commit suicide as his parents had stopped visiting him because he was getting detained repeatedly.

The court adjourned the case until April 9.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.