Dubai: Five hours after Dubai Police were informed of Lebanese singer Suzan Tamim's death, the suspected killer, a 39-year-old Arab national, was identified, said a senior police official.
"It took 12 minutes for the murderer to enter the building, kill the victim and leave," Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Acting Chief of Dubai Police told a press conference on Sunday in Dubai.
"The murder was premeditated and the planning was cunning and highly professional," Al Mazeina said.
He said the suspect was arrested in an Arab country three days after the crime took place. He hinted the motive might have been revenge as there was no evidence in the apartment to indicate otherwise.
The singer was murdered in her apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence on July 28. The police found her body later that evening, several hours after the incident was reported.
Al Mazeina said: "Tamim had a driving test scheduled the morning when she was killed. She had ordered a taxi to meet her under her building at 9am in order to take her to the driving institute. The taxi driver called her several times but she neither answered nor did she meet him.
Throat slit
"This suggests she was killed before 9am."
The singer was found fully dressed and ready to leave the house. The murderer had managed to pass through the building's security without being asked for identification.
In order to convince Tamim to let him into her apartment, he showed her, through the building's video intercom, an envelope showing the logo of the real estate company which had recently sold her the apartment she was residing in. Police said in all probability this was the reason that made her open the door for him.
One and half hours after the crime was committed, the suspect left the UAE and headed to another Arab county, which Mazeina refused to name.
However, some reports suggested the accused was Egyptian. A police source contacted by Gulf News in Cairo said two Egyptians were arrested in connection with the murder.
"The fact is the Prosecutor General has ordered a ban on writing about the case and that the investigations are making progress," said the police official.
The assassin had walked in wearing two layers of clothes, executed the crime, and then got rid of the clothes in the building. The police found his clothes and used them as evidence.
The morning Tamim was killed, her relatives had been calling her but she did not answer. One of her relatives went to her apartment and found her body lying next to the entrance; the door was open. Her throat was slit with a knife.
There were several feuds between the late singer and people outside the UAE, and this will help identify who it was who wanted Tamim killed, according to police.
Tamim had moved to the UAE in July and bought the apartment 10 days before the crime was committed, police said. Al Mazeina refuted reports that pictures on the building's security camera led to the suspect's arrest.
"We had enough and more important evidence in the apartment that led to the identification of the suspect," he said. The way she was killed further helped narrow down investigations, he added.
Meanwhile, three journalists from a newspaper in Cairo have been referred for questions for violating a ban on publishing a report about investigations with suspects arrested on charges of murdering Tamim. Al Dustour carried a report that two hotel security men from Cairo had confessed to killing her on behalf of an Egyptian client. One said they received $2 million for the job.
Sunday's edition of the paper disappeared from the market, officials said. The main story on the newspaper's website has the headline "Is a major Egyptian personality involved in the murder of the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim?"
Justice: Father's relief
Abdul Sattar Tamim, Tamim's father, told Gulf News that he was relieved that the suspect has been arrested. He expressed his gratitude to Dubai Police and said that he was thankful that justice had started to prevail.
"I thank God for the way things are developing. I trust that the result will be positive God willing. I thank Dubai Police for their efficiency," he told Gulf News. He refused to comment further as he is currently in a period of grieving and is still receiving mourners.
With additional inputs from Ramdan Abdulkaddar and Bassam Zaza, Senior Reporter
