A man, who is serving a life sentence in prison for smuggling hundreds of kilogrammes of narcotics via sea, has been sentenced to a further year behind bars for injuring a policeman who tried to stop him from attempting to commit suicide in his jail cell.
The 39-year-old Bahraini boat captain from Hamad Town was standing trial at the High Criminal Court, where in 2014, he was sentenced to life in prison for smuggling hundreds of kilogrammes of meth, hashish and Captagon pills on his private boat.
His criminal record also showed numerous convictions for assaulting Public Security officers.
During an earlier session, he denied charges of assaulting an on-duty police officer and disrespecting three policemen both in speech and actions.
He was tried at the High Criminal Court ‘under aggravating circumstances’, which meant he was judged with less mercy due to having previously been convicted of the same crime.
According to the details of the present incident, the policeman, who was injured by the defendant, testified that he and his team were instructed by the warden to conduct a search of one of the wards around 10am.
They split up and searched each cell, until the officer reached the cell of the defendant.
When it came time to search his bed, the man began to make noise and create a disruption, and incited his cellmates to also cause a disruption.
Under his mattress, the officers found 124 illicit prescription pills, a tattoo machine and sharp metal objects.
According to the prison guard, things began to go south when the defendant got up on the bed, took a bed sheet, wrapped it around his neck, tied it to the cell’s window and attempted to kill himself.
The officer tried to calm the defendant down, and advise him to stop what he was doing. He went up on the bed to talk sense into him, but the defendant attacked him, choked him with both hands and pushed him off the bed.
The policeman fell to the ground, and the defendant lost his balance and fell on top of the officer. The guard held him so he wouldn’t hit the ground.
The defendant then suddenly grabbed the officer’s private parts with force, which caused him severe pain.
The alleged assault did not stop, as the defendant went on to pour tea on the officer’s face then hit his hand, causing his phone to fall on the ground and break.
Other officers soon intervened, and the guards decided to withdraw from the cell since the inmates were riled up, and the officers wanted to avoid escalating the situation.
In Public Prosecution questioning, the defendant admitted to assaulting the officer by grabbing his private parts and putting pressure on them.
A medical report stated that the officer felt irritation and pain in his groin consistent with the alleged assault, but recovered within three weeks without suffering a permanent injury.
Security camera footage reportedly showed the defendant getting on the bed and attempting to asphyxiate himself with a piece of cloth. His refusal to be searched was also recorded, according to the prosecution.
The defendant was then referred for trial at the High Criminal Court, where judges sentenced him to a further year in prison in addition to the time he is already serving.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))