Suspect scribbles denials on underwear

An Ethiopian visitor facing charges of assault and robbery stunned the Dubai Criminal Court by scribbling his denials and demands on his underwear and a piece of a white cloth.

The man identified as DAN, 25, is accused of beating up a 40-year-old Iraqi trader, Ahmad Najeeb, inside a lift of a building housing a money exchange and taking away his bag containing Dh990,000 and $800. His accomplices in the crime are at large.

To grab the attention of presiding judge Al Saeed Mohammed Barghouth, the man who was in the dock wrote on his underwear in English language.

He scribbled the date of his arrest, denial of the accusations, and aired his frustration.

Before being taken out of the dock, he raised a white cloth which also carried his denials and sought their inclusion in his case file.

The court however refused to accept the scribbling as a document but asked for a translator since the accused follows neither Arabic nor English.

He was arrested for the case that dates back to March 1, when at around 6pm he attacked the Iraqi trader and got away with his money-laden bag from the building on Al Muraqqabat Street.

Police had narrowed down on the culprit after retrieving images from the CCTV cameras in the vicinity of the money exchange.