Gym staff jailed for sinister attack on inspector

Three staff members at a bodybuilding and kung fu club in Dubai have been jailed for a vicious assault on a Dubai Municipality inspector, which has left him with permanent disabilities.

The inspector went to a gym in Muraqqabat on November 23 last year and issued a Chinese physician working on the premises with a written notice for bad odours, smoking indoors and cans of expired food, having given a verbal warning on a previous visit.

The inspector told the court the 46-year-old physician rushed him, claiming they were the only ones being inspected, while a female tore up the notice and locked the door.

The physician then started punching the inspector in the face and kicked him to the ground. He was then placed in a chair by the male and female clerks, while the physician started beating the inspector with a stick.

The physician then broke the stick in two and said he would torture the victim before killing him.

He then produced a metal martial arts rod and hit the inspector’s right leg, before attempting to strangle him.

The phone then rang, which the physician went to answer while the female clerk cleared up blood spots and taunted the inspector.

The inspector managed to stand and raced to the window where he jumped out.

A 37-year-old British national said during investigation that he saw the inspector lying on the ground near his building. “There was a crowd around him. He was crying in pain and had bruises on his face and blood on his shirt,” the witness said.

He added that the inspector asked the crowd not leave him alone as the Chinese would kill him.

The Court of First Instance sentenced the physician to three years in prison, while the two clerks will each be jailed for a year.

They will all be deported after serving their terms.