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A rowdy tourist, who sent a taxi driver to the emergency room after smashing his head with a stone in Adliya, has been sentenced in absentia to a year in prison by the High Criminal Court.
The 34-year-old man defendant was found guilty of aggravated robbery after assaulting the driver and stealing two phones and a wallet, containing BD220, from the traumatised cabbie.
Although no permanent damage was suffered, the 55-year-old Bangladeshi driver had to be taken to the hospital to get stitches across his scalp.
Court records show that the Gulf national was reported for petty theft in the past and for speaking inappropriately to a female motorist, insulting her mother with obscene words.
Judges heard that he had likely fled the country but should he return he will be deported permanently after completing his sentence.
The victim recounted that he was working in Adliya when he encountered the man, shortly after stopping to pick up two customers who had hailed his taxi in December.
“The defendant knocked on my side mirror and then the window,” he told the Public Prosecution. “I rolled down the window and the defendant stuck his hand into my car.
“He grabbed two of my phones, which were near the centre console, and took my wallet from the car door.
“I ran after him but he beat me up, picking a rock up off the ground and attacking me with it. I was able to get back my wallet and one of the phones, but he kept the cash and my other phone.”
The victim, now bloodied, felt dizzy and had to sit on the ground as bystanders came to his aid and called an ambulance. His head wound injuries were tended to at the hospital.
According to a medical report, the cuts required stitches and he also suffered swelling in his hand.
A summary of security camera footage, provided in prosecution documents, read that the weekend visitor was seen obstructing the taxi’s way, then opening its door and taking the driver’s belongings. The video also showed the victim with his face covered in blood.
Prosecutors stated that the defendant was able to ‘overpower the victim, and made away with his property through the use of force’.
The court was told that the defendant’s criminal record included two minor infractions: in 2023, he reportedly ate a suhoor meal at a high-end hotel and left without paying for it, and had also stolen a chess set on his way out.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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