/ 17 January 2005

‘He has become very naughty’

An Indian man who beat his wife in the belief that uncomplimentary SMSes she had sent to friends regarding her dog were about him, has been fined by a Dubai court, local newspaper Gulf News reported on Monday.

The court heard that on the day of the assault the man took a call on his wife’s cellphone as she was in the bath. After hanging up, he started reading her outgoing SMSes, which included the following: ”He doesn’t listen to me. He doesn’t like the food I give him.

”He ruins the furniture. The apartment is always messy because of him. He has become very naughty and disobedient lately.”

The messages were about the couple’s unruly dog, but believing them to be about him, the husband flew into a drunken rage and beat his wife.

He was fined 3 000 dirhams (about R4 900) by the court. — Sapa-DPA