EYE-CUE ASSAULT: Victim tried to help accused before attack | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kamloops News

EYE-CUE ASSAULT: Victim tried to help accused before attack

"IF HE HAD A GUN IN HIS POCKET, HE WOULD HAVE PULLED THE TRIGGER."

KAMLOOPS - A TRU international student went from receiving hugs and sharing drinks in celebration of his 28th birthday to a hospital bed after being jabbed in the eye at a Kamloops nightclub last year with a pool cue.

Abdulaziz Alhedaib, a Saudi Arabian native who has been in Canada about five years, came to Kamloops to study English as a Second Language before concentrating on a business degree in finance.

Yesterday, he limped into the courtroom with the help of a cane, one eye slightly closed, to testify against a school colleague on trial for attacking him.

Yousef Almotairi, 26, faces charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after allegedly jabbing Alhedaib in the eye with the pool cue at Cactus Jacks Nightclub around 1 a.m., Nov. 4, 2012.

While Alhedaib would not comment to media outside the courtroom as to his current condition, he was in hospital until this April suffering from brain damage.

In his testimony, he told the court he was hosting a birthday celebration at a Seymour Street rental property the night of the alleged attack and that the accused—a friend of his roommate—was invited to the party, but never showed up.

After having four or five beers, he said he walked with two friends to Cactus Jacks to continue the celebration.

When he arrived at the bar, Alhedaib was surprised to run into the accused, but told the court he wasn't bothered that he'd skipped out on his birthday. The two had only known each other through school and mutual friends.

However, it didn't stop Alhedaib from trying to lend a hand when a few people began giving Almotairi a hard time near the pool tables at the bar, he told the court.

"I was trying to settle things down," he said.

He said despite efforts to provide support, the accused turned on him 'for no reason.'

"(He said)... it's none of your business. Get the fuck out of here. Don't get involved in something you have nothing to do with," Alhedaib said.

Alhedaib said he swore back at him, wanting 'respect' before the argument escalated, and Alhedaib punched the accused in the face.

"I was expecting a punch back," he said.

Instead, he awoke in the hospital and has a permanently disfigured eye and suffering some brain damage.

Alhedaib said he believes the accused was trying to kill him.

"If he had a gun in his pocket, he would have pulled the trigger," he said.

Cross-examination by the defence is expected this morning. The two-week trial is expected to end next week.

To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.

News from © iNFOnews, 2013
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