Indian Convicted for Suicide Attempt, Fined $544

Dubai: An Indian worker, in his mid 20s, has been convicted and ordered to pay 2,000 dirhams by a court in Dubai for attempting to commit suicide by consuming 48 sleeping pills after he could not sleep.

The convict, who was identified only by his initials R B, was rushed to a hospital on September 11 after he was discovered by his roommate having taken four dozen Panadol Night pills, Gulf News reported.

When enquired by policemen at the hospital, R B said he took the pills at once when he was at his residence. Prosecutors charged the defendant, who pleaded not guilty, with attempting suicide by taking the 48 pills at one time as he intended to kill himself.

"No. It is not true. I didn't want to kill myself. I suffered constant worries and couldn't sleep... that's why I took them," he was quoted as saying to the Dubai Misdemeanours Court by the paper.

The court fined the defendant 2,000 dirhams (USD 544). When paramedics and doctors discovered that R B had taken 48 Panadol Night pills, they informed the police. He was taken into custody shortly after he was discharged from hospital.