Man on visit visa gets life in prison for deliberately murdering fellow man in Dubai cafe

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced a man on a visit visa to life in prison for deliberately murdering a fellow man. The court also sentenced five others to 10 years in jail for abetting the defendant.

The incident, which took place near the Dubai Water Canal, dates back to last May when an Arab waiter reported to the police that a man was stabbed in the café he was working for.

He stated that he saw a number of café customers chasing a man who had arrived at the eatery with another man.

One of the defendants took a knife out of his pocket and chased the victim, while the latter tried to resist him by pushing him with a chair from the café, he said. The other defendants pushed the victim’s friend away when he tried to defend him, he added.

The waiter said he saw the victim trying to escape in a vehicle belonging to another man that was parked near the café but the driver refused to let the victim in. At that point, he added, the defendant stabbed the victim in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground with blood all over him.

The police were informed and an ambulance was called to the scene of the murder.

A policeman stated in the interrogations that a team of detectives identified the suspects and arrested two of them within three hours. He added that the other suspects were nabbed at the airport while trying to flee to a European country.

On interrogation, the defendants admitted that they belonged to one family and came to the UAE from a European country as tourists for shopping.

While they were touring an area in the emirate, they happened to meet the victim in the café where the incident occurred, they said. They decided to kill the victim due to a family feud between both parties.

According to the court, the first defendant intentionally and premeditatedly killed the victim. He sought to take revenge on the victim and contrived ways to do so. Consequently, he tracked the victim down and learned that he was available in Dubai.

He travelled from his country to the emirate.

The defendant carried a knife wherever he went in Dubai, anticipating to encounter the victim any time.

As soon as the defendant saw the victim and his companion, he rushed to him with the knife in his hand, while the other defendants followed him.

The defendant confronted the victim, while two others followed the victim’s companion to prevent him from interfering. At that point, the defendant stabbed the victim twice who fell to his death.