Dubai A security guard, who was under the impression that his roommate had abused him sexually while he was asleep and stabbed him to death, has been jailed for life.
The 45-year-old Egyptian security guard killed his Nepalese roommate with a kitchen knife in the flat that they shared in Al Nahda in December.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of premeditated murder although he had admitted that he stabbed his roommate but denied it was premeditated.
When he appeared in court, the Egyptian said he stabbed the deceased but maintained that he did not have plans in advance to kill him.
“There was no enmity between us … it just happened,” argued S.Y. as he told the court.
On Sunday, presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused will be deported after serving his punishment.
The murder weapon will be confiscated, said the presiding judge.
When asked about his exact intention when he stabbed the Nepalese victim, the 45-year-old said: “I intended to kill him but I did not plan that earlier. It happened spontaneously.”
Records said the accused had plotted in advance to kill the Nepalese victim due to an earlier dispute between them.
The defendant took advantage of the fact that they were alone in the flat and stabbed the victim while he was busy using his tablet.
The forensic examiner’s report confirmed that the victim succumbed to several knife cuts in his chest and stomach.
A Nepalese waitress claimed she was in her flat [in the same building where the incident happened] when she heard loud noises and cries for help in the corridor.
“My flatmate and I rushed out to see what had happened. The victim, who was our workmate, lived in the adjacent flat that was rented by our employer. The next flat’s door was open — when we looked inside, we saw the victim on the floor in a pool of blood. There was blood everywhere. We shouted loudly until our workmates from other flats rushed to see what had happened. We went back to our flat and police were summoned to the scene. Later we were told that the defendant had stabbed the deceased,” she testified.
A police lieutenant testified that the accused was apprehended inside the flat where he stayed following the incident.
“During questioning, S.Y. admitted that he had stabbed the victim with a knife that he took from the kitchen. He gave different statements and several reasons why he had stabbed the victim — but he claimed that it was due to a previous dispute. He also alleged that he smoked a cigarette after he stabbed the victim. The suspect further claimed that he decided to kill the victim two days before the incident and that he had intended to kill him. He also claimed that had he had the chance, he would have decapitated him after suspecting that the deceased had sexually abused him [S.Y.] while sleeping some time before the incident,” claimed the lieutenant.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
