A MAN who was jailed for seven years for mugging an expatriate store-keeper and dragging him across a street just to steal a cigarette box has lost an appeal against his conviction.
The assault, on April 20 this year, was caught on the security cameras of the cold store in Samaheej.
The 31-year-old Bahraini was found guilty of mugging and assault by the High Criminal Court in September.
He filed an appeal at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court which upheld the sentence yesterday.
“There is sufficient evidence against the defendant,” read the appeal ruling.
“The defendant told his victim to hand over a cigarette box before speeding off in his vehicle.
“The victim who tried to chase after the defendant on foot was dragged by his vehicle as he held onto the car’s window.
“The cold store employee was then thrown to the ground and the defendant fled.
“The defendant was found guilty of the charges and CCTV footage was submitted as evidence.”
Court documents revealed that DNA cells lifted from the stolen vehicle’s steering wheel matched the defendant.
A Bahraini detective involved in investigating the crime revealed that CCTV footage showed the victim, who suffered multiple injuries, being dragged by the moving car.
The cold store worker suffered head injuries in addition to cuts and bruises over his body and was treated at King Hamad University Hospital.
During the investigation, the detective received information from sources identifying the defendant and confirmed that the car used in the mugging had been stolen from Hoora.
The court heard that the victim recognised the defendant from a photograph and the defendant had a history of committing similar crimes.
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