The Ras Al Khaimah Misdemeanour Court sentenced a 26-year-old woman to three months in prison under electronic monitoring and fined her AED 5,000 for slapping a 20-year-old café manager twice and insulting him. The dispute began over a café window being left open while the air-conditioning system was running and escalated into a verbal altercation, threats and ultimately a physical confrontation.

The court also fined the café manager AED 3,000 for insulting and verbally threatening the customer.

Under the ruling, the woman must remain at her residence for the duration of her sentence and may leave only during official working hours, subject to providing a confirmation letter from her employer.

The court also considered the café manager’s young age as a mitigating factor when determining his sentence.

Dispute Over Open Café Window

According to case documents, the incident occurred shortly after midnight on September 4, 2026, at a café in Ras Al Khaimah.

The dispute began when café staff objected to the customer leaving a window open because it was affecting the performance of the air-conditioning system.

Tensions between the customer and the café manager gradually escalated into a verbal altercation, during which both sides exchanged insults.

According to the court’s findings, the woman used language that harmed the café manager’s dignity and reputation. The manager responded with similar remarks and threatened to break her leg if she returned to the café.

The verbal dispute then turned physical, with the woman slapping the café manager across the face.

Despite her sister’s attempt to prevent the confrontation from continuing, the woman returned to the manager and slapped him across the face a second time.

What Did the CCTV Cameras Capture?

CCTV footage reviewed by the court showed the woman leaving the café with her sister, while the café manager also exited with a female employee.

After the parties left the café, another argument broke out, during which the customer slapped the manager across the face.

The woman’s sister tried to pull her away from the manager, but the customer returned, slapped him a second time and then left the scene.

Investigations found that the café manager reported the incident to police shortly afterwards through the UAE Ministry of Interior’s smart application.

In his complaint, he said the customer insulted and physically assaulted him after he asked her to close the window to maintain the air-conditioning system’s performance.

However, police records showed that the café manager declined a medical examination when filing the complaint.

Woman Gives Different Account of How Dispute Began

During the investigation, the woman gave a different account of how the dispute began.

She claimed that a café employee had asked for her mobile phone number on behalf of another customer, but she refused to provide it.

According to the woman, a dispute then arose between her and the café manager, during which he used offensive language and threatened her.

During questioning, the woman admitted slapping the café manager across the face but claimed she had acted in response to his verbal insults.

The café manager denied the allegations against him and maintained that the dispute began solely because the customer refused to close the window.

Both Parties Referred to Court

After completing the investigation, the Public Prosecution referred both parties to court for trial.

The female customer faced two charges related to physically assaulting and publicly insulting the café manager.

The café manager was prosecuted for verbally insulting and threatening the customer.

During proceedings, the café manager’s lawyer argued that the legal elements required to establish the offences of insult and threat against his client were absent.

The lawyer said the manager had merely been performing his duties and had intervened to maintain safety at the café and prevent disruption to the air-conditioning equipment.

He stressed that the café manager became involved only after the customer refused to close the window.

Café Manager’s Lawyer Challenges Customer’s Account

The defence lawyer also challenged the woman’s account of the incident and highlighted the difference in when the two parties filed their complaints.

He said the café manager had notified police immediately after the incident, while the woman did not file a complaint at the time and made her allegations only after officers contacted her.

The lawyer also questioned the woman’s claim that a café employee had asked for her mobile phone number.

He objected to the testimony of the woman’s sister, arguing that the CCTV footage did not prove that the manager had committed the alleged insults or threats.

The lawyer said the footage had no audio and therefore could not confirm that any verbal insults or threats had been made.

On that basis, citing the manager’s denial of the allegations and the lack of recorded audio in the CCTV footage, the lawyer sought his client’s acquittal.

Court Responds to Defence Arguments

After reviewing the defence arguments, the court said a defendant’s denial formed part of their defence and that it was for the court to assess its credibility.

The court also stressed that the woman’s delay in filing a complaint was not, by itself, grounds to discredit her statements or prove that the allegations were fabricated and malicious.

The court said the key consideration in such cases was the credibility of the evidence and its consistency with the events, rather than which party filed a complaint first.

The court also rejected the lawyer’s argument concerning the lack of audio in the CCTV footage.

It ruled that the absence of recorded audio did not mean that no verbal altercation, insult or threat had occurred, as witness testimony and other evidence could establish such conduct.

Was the Sister’s Testimony Admissible?

Another issue disputed in court was the credibility of the woman’s sister as a witness.

The café manager’s lawyer sought to challenge her statements because of her family relationship with the customer.

However, the court rejected this argument, ruling that family ties did not in themselves prevent a person from testifying or automatically diminish the value of their testimony.

The court stressed that what mattered was the credibility of the witness’s statements and their consistency with the other evidence in the case.

Evidence Behind the Convictions

In reaching its verdict, the court examined a range of evidence, including statements from both parties, testimony from a café employee, testimony from the woman’s sister, the investigation report and CCTV footage.

The court found that, taken together, the evidence confirmed that a dispute had occurred and escalated into a verbal altercation and ultimately a physical confrontation.

The court also found the evidence consistent and sufficient to prove that both parties had exchanged insults, that the café manager had verbally threatened the woman and that she had physically assaulted him.

In reviewing the charges against each party, the court concluded that the offences attributed to each defendant were inseparably linked and therefore applied the more severe penalty for the related offences.

Final Ruling: Three Months Under Electronic Monitoring and AED 8,000 in Fines

The Ras Al Khaimah Misdemeanour Court ultimately sentenced the 26-year-old woman to three months in prison and fined her AED 5,000.

Under the ruling, her prison sentence will be served at home under electronic monitoring.

The only exception allows her to leave home during official working hours, subject to providing a confirmation letter from her employer.

The court also fined the 20-year-old café manager AED 3,000 for insulting and threatening the customer, taking his young age into account when determining the penalty.

Both parties were also ordered to pay court costs.

The dispute, which began over a café window being left open while the air-conditioning system was running, ended with both parties being convicted and receiving fines totalling AED 8,000.