Man denies harbouring murder suspects

Dubai: An unemployed man has been accused of harbouring three men suspected of committing a murder in Ajman.

Prosecutors charged the 30-year-old Pakistani man, S.R., with sheltering his three countrymen at his house in Dubai even though he knew that they were wanted by Ajman Police on suspicion of the premeditated murder of a worker and the attempted murder of another.

They also charged him with attempting to help the suspects flee the country.

The defendant pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday.

Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout adjourned the case and will hear prosecution witnesses on February 14. Records show that the three suspects contacted S.R. after they allegedly committed the crime in Ajman and asked to live with him until they could leave the country.

According to the arraignment sheet, prosecutors said S.R. allowed the three murder suspects to live in his house until he could drive them to Al Buraimi, where they planned to cross the border into Oman, which they failed to do due to the heavy traffic.

S.R. was also charged with failing to report the murder to the police.

A Pakistani worker, Q.A., testified that he shared the same accommodation with the suspects, and claimed to have seen someone give the suspects a dagger to kill the victim.