Dubai: A painter has been jailed for seven years for killing his workmate after an exchange of jokes developed into a heated argument followed by a fight.

The 23-year-old Pakistani painter, S.I., stabbed his countryman, J.A., with a kitchen knife that he was using to cut vegetables for dinner on November 9.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted S.I. of killing J.A. and sentenced him to seven years.

“The murder weapon will be confiscated and the accused will be deported after serving his jail term,” said presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat on Monday. Despite having been accused of intentionally killing J.A., the defendant contended that he did not intend to commit the murder.

“It started with a joke which developed into a heated argument that ended with a [fight]. He hit me on my head first, then I stabbed him in self- defence… I did not have any motive to kill him,” argued J.A. when he entered a not guilty plea.

A Pakistani mechanic, R.A., said the defendant and the victim quarrelled while preparing dinner in the kitchen at 7.30pm.

“They were slicing vegetables at the table and were having a conversation that turned into a heated argument… they swore at each other. Immediately I asked them to stop cursing each other and tried to calm them down. They ignored me while each of them pulled out a knife and pointed it at the other’s face. I intervened quickly and tried to calm them down. The victim put down the knife on the table, unlike S.I. who stabbed J.A. in his chest. The victim shouted loudly and ran out from the kitchen to the garage’s supervisor who was present outside. The defendant threw down the knife and ran away,” R.A. testified in court.

The mechanic and his friend, A.K., rushed the victim to hospital, according to records.

“I saw the defendant rush out of the kitchen and to an unknown place. We carried J.A. to the car and drove quickly to a hospital because he was bleeding,” A.K. said.

A policeman testified that R.A. and A.K. accompanied him to the crime scene and explained what happened.

“When the defendant arrived at the place where the incident took place, we arrested him. During questioning, he claimed that he stabbed J.A. because he cursed his mother and sister,” the policeman claimed.

Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.