Dubai: A storekeeper has been accused of strangulating his wife after he suspected that she was cheating on him.
The 33-year-old Indian storekeeper, S.S., was said to have indulged in a heated argument with his wife over her suspected extramarital affair with another man.
Prosecutors said the defendant intentionally strangulated his wife, P.R., at their residence in Bur Dubai on August 7 before he turned himself in to the police.
The suspect, however, entered a not guilty plea and denied any intention to kill his wife when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
“I am not guilty. I did not kill her,” S.S. argued in courtroom three.
“Who killed her then? Why did you fight? What happened?” presiding judge Wajdi Al Menyawi asked the defendant.
“We had a dispute. I suspected that she was cheating on me and that evening we had a heated argument that developed into a fight. I did not have any intention to kill her. Besides, I was under the influence of liquor. She had prepared a bag to leave the house when the fight erupted,” contended the defendant.
Senior Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution, asked the court to implement the toughest punishment applicable against S.S. as he committed a murder associated with another crime [consuming alcohol].
According to the accusation sheet, the defendant threw his wife over the bed and jumped on her pressing her neck with both the hands.
Prosecution records said the postmortem carried out on the wife confirmed that she had sex with a man other than her husband.
The wife had collected her clothes and personal belongings in a bag as she was about to leave the house, according to a Yemeni policeman who examined the crime scene.
“I was on duty when the defendant walked into Bur Dubai Police Station drunk around 3am. He seemed confused. When I asked him what he wanted, he claimed that he had a fight with his wife and that he killed her. He alleged that he had suspected that she cheated on him and that when he confronted her they got involved in a heated argument. He claimed that when his wife belittled and cursed him, he got angry and strangulated her. A police team rushed to their flat in Al Jafeliyya. The wife was found dead on the bed. There was a bag that contained the deceased’s clothes and apparently she wanted to move out of the house when the incident took place,” claimed the policeman.
An Emirati police lieutenant testified that he was at home alone consuming liquor while his wife was at work.
“S.S. claimed during questioning that when his wife returned from work, he confronted P.R. about his doubts that she was cheating on him. The discussion developed into a very heated argument, according to the defendant, who said his wife went to the bedroom and packed her clothes wanting to leave the residence. The suspect alleged that when he tried to prevent his wife from walking out of the door, she cursed him… then he claimed that he strangulated her to death,” claimed the lieutenant.
Presiding judge Al Menyawi said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend S.S. when it reconvenes on December 5.
