Aids-infected inmate deliberately dripped blood into kettle
Dubai: An inmate at Dubai Central Jail has been sentenced to an additional six months in jail for endangering the lives of 40 prisoners. The inmate, who has Aids, was accused of trying to mix his blood in tea meant for other inmates. The Dubai Court of First instance on Sunday also found the 20-year-old Emirati defendant, H.H.,guilty of threatening a Bangladeshi prison worker, who was serving food to the 40 prisoners, in the August 2013 incident. Prosecutors had charged the defendant with threatening the employee and endangering prisoners’ lives.
The defendant was in solitary confinement, along with the 40 other prisoners, when the incident occurred. The defendant entered a not guilty plea citing “illogical accusation”, but presiding judge Mohammad Jamal refused to accept it. “I did not put blood in the tea kettle. How on earth would I be able to threaten anyone while in a solitary cell?” the defendant said in court. A jail warden testified that the defendant seized the food trolley and used the kettle’s lid to slit his wrist and squeeze his blood into the tea. The defendant was also accused of threatening to sprinkle his blood over the meals and the floor.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days
