Dubai court convicts Yemeni who hit OFW's knee

MANILA, Philippines - A 29-year-old jobless Yemeni national who hit a Filipino in the knee in the United Arab Emirates with a hammer in a foiled attempt to rob him was convicted by a Dubai court, an online report said Wednesday. Online news site Gulf News reported that the Dubai Court of First Instance found the suspect guilty of attempted robbery and impersonating a police officer. The suspect would serve six months in jail before being deported back to Yemen. The Public Prosecution charged the man with beating the 50-year-old Filipino supervisor with a hammer on his knee before trying to steal his phone. Court records say the Filipino supervisor spotted the Yemeni national entering his room upon returning from the washroom. When he asked who the Yemeni was, he introduced himself as a policeman. Doubting the suspect’s intention, the Filipino victim called the police but was hit by the Yemeni national on the knee and attempted to snatch away his phone. “I apologized, he insisted on calling the police. I didn't steal his phone. I only took it away from his hand to prevent him from calling the police," the suspect later said in the trial. Responding police officers later arrested the Yemeni hiding behind a tree. - GMANews.TV