A ROW over spilt fish led to a Bahraini sailor in his 50s suffering from broken bones and a 12 per cent permanent disability, a court heard.
Three men – a 33-year-old Bangladeshi and two Bahrainis, aged 51 and 24 – are standing trial at the High Criminal Court for physical assault and swearing in public.
According to court documents, the brawl broke out at Galali Jetty in the early hours of April 28 last year after a truck rammed into a vehicle unloading fish.
“I’ve been a sailor for more than 30 years and I go to ports and jetties on a daily basis,” said the 51-year-old Bahraini in his statement to the Public Prosecution.
“While I was at Galali Jetty with my workers unloading our truck, another truck came up behind us with its driver (the 33-year-old Bangladeshi man) honking repeatedly.
“An expat in the truck hurled abuses at me, calling me donkey and dog, I tried to calm him down, but he continued to use foul language.
“He then rammed his vehicle into our freezer on purpose and most of the fish that we had caught during the day spilled onto the road. I was terribly upset and angry.”
The Bahraini claimed that he still tried to strike a conversation with the Bangladeshi, who continued his aggressive behaviour.
“He then jumped out of the car and pushed me to the ground. I fell on the metal part of the dhow.
“I knew I was injured as I could feel intense pain in my thigh. I couldn’t move and felt like my bones had broken.
“My son (the 24-year-old co-defendant) arrived and the 33-year-old grabbed him by his neck and punched him in the face.
“My son was bleeding and he called policemen and an ambulance which transported me to a hospital for an emergency operation.”
A medical report attached to the case files confirmed that the 51-year-old suffered a 12pc permanent disability from fractures sustained to his right femur bone.
The trial has been adjourned to Thursday to bring the defendants to court to face the charges.
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