Dubai tourist claims he was burned and beaten over business dispute

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Dubai tourist claims he was burned and beaten over business dispute A tourist has gone on trial accused of locking his friend inside a hotel laundry room for 12 hours, assaulting him with a bar and pouring boiling water over him over a business dispute. The 44-year-old Australian appeared at Dubai Court of First Instance, charged with the attack on his Pakistani friend and threatening to hire hitmen to kill the man’s family. Prosecutors said that the 54-year-old victim came to Dubai with the accused on October  4, 2015, on a business trip and the pair stayed in a hotel in JBR. The Pakistani claimed that the next day the pair were discussing their business deal when the accused became angry and demanded the victim return money he had invested. “He assaulted me before dragging me to the laundry room and locking me in. He came back later with a bar and assaulted me,” the victim said in official records. It was claimed the accused threw boiling water on his friend and only once allowed him to use the bathroom during the ordeal. The victim said he was able to escape to the next room when the accused fell asleep shortly after midnight. But he was also so tired that he fell asleep. When the defendant found him an hour or so later, the beatings started again. “He was sleeping and I was so tired and slept on the bed,” the victim said. “When he woke up, he started assaulting me with his belt and told me to call my friend in Australia to send the money.” The victim phoned his friends and told them what happened and after 12 hours, Dubai Police rescued him. A 28-year-old Emirati officer testified that they were alerted to the incident by the Australian Consulate. He said: “The victim told us that a business dispute happened between them and claimed that the accused burned him with boiling water.” The accused denied the charges, claiming the pair were friends. The trial was adjourned until later to prepare the defence. ali.shouk@7days.ae Read the original story at: Dubai tourist claims he was burned and beaten over business dispute