A crane operator, found guilty of breaking the jaw of an off-duty member of the defence forces after the latter accidentally collided with his sister’s car, will receive a ruling on his appeal against sentence later this month.
The 26-year-old Bahraini faces a year in prison on charges of unintentionally causing a disability after punching the 56-year-old victim’s face and fracturing his mandible in one vicious blow.
According to the High Criminal Court verdict, the serviceman had to undergo multiple operations to stabilise his jaw and remove two teeth damaged in the assault.
A medical report evaluated the injury as a 10 per cent disability and further stated that the blow affected the man’s sensory nerve tissue, caused damage in his face and resulted in a lack of sensation.
According to the report, the tissue was connected to the trigeminal nerve (fifth cranial nerve) which is responsible for sensations in the head and face, including touch, pain and temperature.
During the initial trial, the appellant admitted to the charges and a testimony of his sister in Public Prosecution hearings incriminated him too.
The victim earlier recounted the 2022 attack, when he was aged 54 and the appellant was aged 24.
“I parked outside a cold store to buy something, and when I departed the spot I collided into a vehicle parked behind me,” he stated. “It appeared that there was a girl in the car, and she called her father for help.
“The young woman’s father came with the appellant – her brother – and while I was speaking to the father, the appellant suddenly punched the left side of my face.”
The confrontation that took place on Baghdad Avenue in Isa Town and was broken up immediately, but one blow had been enough to cause the injury.
Supreme Criminal Appeals Court judges are looking over the case and will issue a verdict on September 30.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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