A café employee, who assaulted his co-worker by splashing her face with scalding hot water, leaving her with severe burns, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
The High Criminal Court found the 20-year-old Bahraini guilty of physical assault, attempting to strangle the victim, pouring hot water on her and hitting her with a kettle.
The defendant and the victim, a 26-year-old Ugandan barista, were arguing about an order behind the counter when the incident suddenly exploded into violence.
A medical report revealed that the woman suffered burns on her face, described by a doctor as a ‘five per cent disability’.
As the argument escalated the defendant hit the victim, causing her to fall to the ground. Delivery drivers who were waiting to pick up orders in the store came to her aid and broke up the altercation. She called their manager to complain, wrongly assuming the row was over.
As she spoke on the phone, the defendant called her name and, as she turned towards him, she was splashed over the face with hot water, which he had earlier boiled using the shop’s coffeemaker.
A delivery driver once again intervened and escorted her out of the premises. Her co-worker followed her onto the street, hit her head with the kettle and even attempted to strangle her.
“The morning of the incident, I asked the defendant to help me but he didn’t respond, so I closed his account on the cash register and opened my own,” she earlier testified.
“Soon after, he began beating me.”
According to her statement, the burns caused her ‘severe pain’.
The man reportedly demanded that she return inside so they could deal with the matter ‘privately’, but she refused. Instead, she hurriedly crossed the street and entered a store opposite to the coffee shop and pleaded for help. Once people inside heard what had happened they called the police. Officers arrived within minutes to apprehend and arrest the man.
During police interviews, the accused admitted to the crime, the court heard.
In the trial, judges questioned him regarding the charges to which he silently nodded, with the court noting his response.
A medical report confirmed that the victim suffered injuries to the face, shoulders and other parts of the body, including a burn on her face that caused the skin to peel.
The GDN earlier reported that security footage from just outside the shop showed the expatriate rushing out of the coffee shop and approaching the surprised delivery man.
The footage also showed the accused following her shortly afterwards, hitting her with the kettle and attempting to strangle her, before the brave delivery driver stepped in and held him back while she fled across the street.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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