Dubai: A clerk accused of setting fire to his company-provided residence after his visa was cancelled has been acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the 26-year-old Indian clerk, V.V., of the charge of arson due to lack of strong evidence, but presiding judge Mohammad Jamal referred him to the Dubai Misdeneamours Court where he will be tried for getting drunk.

The clerk allegedly consumed alcohol and set fire to inflammable materials in the building’s corridor in April.

He pleaded innocent in court. “I was too drunk … I do not know what happened and do not remember anything,” the accused told the presiding judge.

A Moroccan workmate testified to prosecutors that V.V. woke him up as early as 6.15am to tell him a secret.

“When I went to bed the night before, the suspect was not present in the flat that we shared … it was unusual not to see him at 12am at home. Around 6.15am, he woke me up suddenly and told me he had a big secret that he wanted to share with me. He claimed to me that after the company cancelled his residency, he started a fire in the building to harm the company. He told me he did that in a fit of revenge. I noticed injury signs on both his arms and powder leftovers on his face. Suddenly, the alarm system went on … I asked him to leave the flat and went out with him, then we went out of the building completely. He was too drunk and in a few minutes, the police and Civil Defence teams arrived,” the workmate testified to prosecutors.

Dubai Police’s forensic evidence report said the fire had been started deliberately at three locations.

An Indian manager said he contacted the building’s security once he heard the alarm system started at 6am while he was dressing up for work.

“I noticed that the fire was in three different spots. When I saw a fire had also been started in the laundry room, I called up the police and the Civil Defence. While moving around to put out the fire until the firefighters arrived, I saw V.V. who was drunk moving around a lot. Later, I was told that V.V. had started the fire after the company cancelled his residency,” he testified.

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