A man has been sentenced to a year in prison for beating up a delivery driver and throwing bottles of perfume at him over a minor traffic disagreement.
The 32-year-old Bahraini defendant, who works as a driver, was found guilty by the High Criminal Court of assaulting the motorcyclist, knocking out two of his teeth and leaving him with a permanent disability.
He was also ordered to pay BD45 to repair the victim’s motorcycle after he broke its side mirror during the altercation.
The victim, a 20-year-old Pakistani, testified against the defendant, who also admitted to the assault charges. However, the suspect’s attorney claimed that he was exercising his right to self-defence.
A medical report evaluated the victim’s injury as a ‘three per cent disability’, although prosecutors charged the defendant with unintentionally injuring the expatriate.
He claimed that he was trying to kick the man but accidentally struck the bike instead, damaging it. A mechanic inspected the vehicle and concluded that it would require BD45 to repair.
The defendant earlier testified that the delivery driver entered his lane and stopped in front of him. He claimed that he gestured at him to move, but the driver ‘continuously beeped his horn without stopping’.
He said the Pakistani got off the bike, prompting him to step out of the car, and that he was struck by the victim’s helmet, so he retaliated by punching him in the mouth.
“He fell down unconscious and I was alarmed, so I called the police and told them what happened. Soon, an ambulance took him to the hospital, and police took me to the station for questioning,” he testified.
Meanwhile, the defendant’s lawyer claimed in a defence memo that the defendant had narrowly dodged a helmet-powered blow to his face, but it hit his arm due to his swift movement.
“If the blow had landed on his face, it would have knocked out the majority of his teeth and broken his jaw,” the memo stated.
“This triggered a state of rage in the defendant, and he returned the assault out of fear of further attacks.”
The lawyer also argued that the victim had stopped in the middle of the road in violation of traffic laws, reflecting a disregard for road safety. He described the deliveryman’s behaviour as ‘provocative’ and said he caused a disturbance to bystanders by repeatedly sounding the horn.
The attorney further alleged that the motorcycle was positioned in a way that obstructed traffic and posed a hazard that could have caused an accident.
However, these arguments failed to convince the judges, and the Bahraini man was convicted on both charges.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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