LONDON // The fracas on the seafront in Hastings that led to the death of Mohammed al Majed, 16, last summer began when an English youth threw a punch at one of the student's friends because he was black, a court heard yesterday.
George Austin, now 22 and from south London, is alleged to have hit Mohammed so hard in the face that he flew backwards and struck his head on the kerb, sustaining serious brain injuries.
Mohammed, who had been studying English in the south coast resort in the summer of last year and had been due to return to his home in Doha a week later, died three days later in hospital in London.
Camden Pratt QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Lewes Crown Court that Mohammed and his friends, most of whom were from the Gulf, were chatting outside a seafront kebab shop late in the evening in August last year when a group of young, English men and women approached. Mr Pratt said there was an essential difference between the two groups: the students were sober while the English youths had been drinking heavily.
The court heard that trouble started when the white group began taunting the students. Paul Rockett, 21, went up to Peter Henworth, 17, a student from Nigeria, and demanded: "Where are you from?"
He then attempted to punch the Nigerian but missed. As the students fled, one of the English youths called after them: "Come back here, you nigger."
Mr Pratt told the court: "That's what he did and that's what started the incident ... which led to the shameful events that followed.
"They picked on [Mr Henworth] because he was black - because of their presumption of his race and by reason of their prejudice. The group of white men ran after him but simply could not catch him."
Mr Pratt said that when the violence flared, Mohammed took shelter in the kebab shop with Abdullah Alnowais, 16, his cousin, and Mojeb Qatani, 14, from Saudi Arabia. After a while they made a run for it, only to encounter Mr Austin outside.
"The Crown says that George Austin ran at Mohammed and punched him right in the face," said Mr Pratt. "It was so hard it knocked Mohammed off his feet and effectively into the air with the force of impact.
"Mohammed went backwards through the air, striking the back of his head on the road. Some witnesses indicated that he immediately may have begun convulsing."
Mr Pratt said Mojeb was then hit on the head with a bottle by Alex Quinn, 19. By the time police arrived, Mr Austin and Mr Quinn had fled, while Mr Rockett was arrested for being drunk.
The jury heard that Mohammed initially regained consciousness and was held in a police van before being taken to hospital by ambulance, where he was found to be suffering from a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage.
The morning after the attack he was transferred from a local hospital to a specialist brain injury unit at King's College Hospital in London. Two days later, he went into cardiac arrest and died.
"That cardiac arrest was a direct result of the head injury that was caused by George Austin's assault," Mr Pratt told the court, watched by Mohammed's family in the public gallery.
At the time of his death, Mohammed had been in Britain for about five weeks, studying English at the EF International Language School in Hastings.
Mr Rockett and Mr Quinn later claimed that Mohammed and his friends had started the fight and were a gang who were "trying to turn all the kids into Muslims".
Mr Austin flew to Cyprus within days of the incident, claiming that he did not know Mohammed had died. He was arrested at Gatwick Airport when he flew back to Britain in November.
Mr Austin, who has been held in custody since his arrest, accepts that he hit Mohammed but claims that it was in self-defence. He denies a charge of manslaughter.
Mr Rockett, from Etchingham, East Sussex, denies racially aggravated assault while Mr Quinn, from Hastings, denies unlawful wounding.
The trial is expected to last up to a month.
dsapsted@thenational.ae
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The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.