Unconscious man 'was stuffed in car boot'

Dubai: A man is facing trial for knocking his drunk compatriot unconscious and leaving him to suffocate after putting him in a suitcase in a car boot.

A police first lieutenant testified the 25-year-old Russian suspect lied when he claimed the victim had died of a drugs overdose.

The Public Prosecution charged S.E. with the premeditated murder of his compatriot A.A. after he beat him unconscious and put him in a suitcase.

S.E. denied the charge before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday but confessed to consuming hashish.

The first lieutenant stated: "We found the body in the trunk of a car which was parked near a hotel... initial interrogations led to the arrest of S.E. in Sharjah because of his acquaintance to the victim. S.E. tried to convince me that the victim had passed away after taking drugs in his flat in Karama."

Medical reports confirmed A.A. suffocated.