Dubai student left blind in one eye after fight with video game playmate’s brothers

Dubai: Two Emirati brothers have been accused of beating a Dubai student, resulting in loss of sight in one eye of the victim after a fight broke out over a video game.

A Dubai Court of First Instance heard that the 20-year-old Emirati student was physically assaulted by the two Emirati defendants, following a dispute with their brother who had lost a match on PlayStation, while playing against the victim. The incident happened in June 2020.

“I was at my home in Sharjah playing Call of Duty against him. I won the game, but he harassed me. On the next day, he called and insulted me. Though I didn’t reply, his brothers kept calling me,” said the Emirati student on record. He said the two Emirati defendants aged 20 and 24 called him several times, seeking to meet him and sort out the matter in a friendly way. “I agreed to meet them in the Al Mizhar area after four days. I went with two of my friends and the defendants came to meet me at a school parking lot. I asked them to stop calling me.”

Meanwhile, several cars arrived and about 20 people gathered around the victim. “The two defendants, along with another person whom I didn’t know, assaulted me. They hit me in my right eye with a sharp tool,” the victim added. Soon after the attack, the defendants escaped and the victim’s friends then took him to hospital before reporting the incident to Dubai Police. Medical reports confirmed that the victim sustained 35 per cent disability after he lost sight in his right eye.

Dubai Police arrested the two brothers while the third defendant is still at large. Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the two defendants with physically assaulting the victim.