A Gulf national was sentenced to three years in prison for brutally punching a restaurant security manager, breaking his jaw, knocking out three teeth and causing a disabling nerve injury.
The altercation took place after the 41-year-old defendant was told by employees of the high-end restaurant and bar in the Southern Governorate that he could not smoke indoors.
The High Criminal Court found him guilty in absentia of inflicting a 10 per cent disability on the employee.
The Public Prosecution earlier charged the smoking defendant, along with a friend, of publicly insulting the Bahraini victim in a manner that was injurious to his honour and reputation.
Five security guards, including the victim, were also charged for being involved in the ruckus with the two customers, without causing lasting harm. The guards, four Bahraini and one Sundanese, along with the puncher’s companion, were all fined BD100.
As a result of the fight, the 42-year-old Bahraini manager was left with a broken jaw, lost three teeth, with a fourth that remains unstable. Since the incident, he has also been suffering from numbness in the face. A medical report stated that the blow affected a nerve that gives sensation to his face and jaw, leading to decreased sensation. The injury was re-evaluated by doctors three months following the August incident, and determined at that point that the victim had been left with a disability evaluated at 10 per cent.
The GDN earlier reported that the incident took place at 2.30am, when the men wanted to leave the restaurant’s terrace area, in which smoking is allowed, to enter a non-smoking area.
A 35-year-old Bahraini security guard - the fourth defendant - testified that the men had cigarettes in their hands. When he and his colleagues tried to stop them, the main defendant reportedly brought the cigarette close to his face. “I lowered his hand to move it away from me, when he began reacting physically,” he said.
The guards called their manager to help handle the situation, asking the Gulf nationals to calm down.
“I told the guests they couldn’t smoke, and one told me he’d put out the cigarettes in my face if I didn’t leave him alone,” the injured employee said, recounting the night.
“Security guards held them, which caused a state of agitation and there was pushing and shoving. Everyone bumped into one another, and the guys tried to escape in the long hallway.
“Suddenly, I felt a blow coming from behind, where the first defendant punched me in the face. I think he had a watch wrapped around his fist, to cause more damage.”
Another security guard, the 31-year-old Bahraini fifth defendant, recalled that the men were not only holding cigarettes but also bottles.
The visitors claimed they were defending themselves.
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