Dubai: A worker claimed in court yesterday that police coerced him to admit that he premeditatedly battered his colleague to death with a wooden bar over a Dh100 debt.

"I did not kill him… I did not have any intention to do so. My confession, during police questioning, was taken under pressure and by force. I am not guilty," argued the 32-year-old Bangladeshi worker when he defended himself in the Dubai Court of First Instance.

Prosecutors accused the defendant, S.A., with premeditatedly killing his colleague, A.C., by beating the latter twice on his head with a wooden bar while he was asleep.

When confronted by Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout, S.A. denied his charge and told the court that he cannot appoint a lawyer.

An Indian sales executive, who was the first to spot the dead body, testified that he thought A.C. was sleeping when he first saw him in a villa under construction in Al Khawaneej area.

"I went to check the work in progress. One of the workers told me that A.C. was asleep inside the villa. I walked in and called his name, but he didn't answer. He was covered head-to-toe and slept on a wooden bed. Immediately I realised something was wrong when I spotted blood on the pillow and under the bed. I informed my boss, O.A., who arrived soon and we waited for the police and ambulance," claimed the executive in his prosecution statement.

O.A. told the prosecutor that paramedic teams informed him that A.C. had died.

Investigations

An Emirati first lieutenant testified primary investigations led to the arrest of a number of suspects, including S.A.

"The victim's friends informed us that S.A. was the last person to be seen with the deceased… we took him in for questioning. At first he denied that he knew the victim and claimed he only saw him once in front of a mosque… later he collapsed and admitted that he earlier lend lent the victim Dh100. On the day of the incident, he claimed, that he went to collect his money from A.C. who was asleep. S.A. alleged that a heated argument erupted between the two and the deceased cursed him and his mother… so he went out and lit a cigarette. He claimed that he picked the wooden bar from the front yard and walked back in to the room and battered A.C.'s head twice and disappeared," claimed the first lieutenant in his prosecution statement.

Presiding Judge Barghout adjourned the case until May 30 to appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect.