Sharjah: A court has handed a farm worker a death sentence for killing his co-worker.

The accused buried the body at a ranch and the murder was discovered four years after it was committed.

The Sharjah Sharia Court of First Instance handed the death sentence to the Bangladeshi worker who murdered an Indian farm worker seven years ago.

According to court documents M.A. murdered N.T. using an axe while they were in their room at the farm.

The accused told police he murdered N.T. because the latter used to point to him and call him a homosexual and a pimp.

The accused said he was afraid to surrender himself to police because his friends told him he would be executed by firing squad.

According to court documents the crime was discovered when the owner of the ranch located in Al Dhaid asked his workers to build a new gate and fence around the farm. While they were digging up the area they found bones, a skull and other human remains along with a wristwatch, a T-shirt and other personal items.

Police were informed and they questioned all workers at the farm. The owner of the farm told police that he had recently bought the farm.

The former owner told police two of his workers had absconded from the farm in 2003, one of them was a Bangladeshi identified as M.A. and the other was an Indian identified as N.T.

M.A. was arrested by police. The accused told police his sponsor and his family liked him and would give him money and drop him at the airport if he wanted to go home. The accused told police the victim was envious.

M.A. said the victim used to tell him the sponsor's family liked him [M.A.] because he was a homosexual. M.A. told police that N.T. used to repeat this daily whenever they went to their room.

M.A. told police on the day of the crime N.T. was taunting him again and he could not control himself any longer. He said he used an axe to murder his victim, hitting him twice on the head.

M.A. said N.T. died on the spot. He said he wrapped his victim up with sheets and pulled him outside the room. M.A. said he dug a grave at the ranch using his hands to bury his victim and then covered the body with palm leaves, papers and sacks.

He said he also threw his clothes in the garbage container. And then painted the room to cover the blood before fleeing to Dubai.

According to court documents the court was not able reach the victim's parents. M.A. admitted the crime and was charged with premeditated murder and sentenced to death. He appealed and the case is now being reviewed by the Appeal Court in Sharjah.