Waiver helps killer get reduced term

Dubai A court granted a lenient punishment to a businesswoman who had killed her boyfriend, and jailed her for seven years after she obtained a written waiver from the victim's parents.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 26-year-old Kazakh defendant, A.F., of killing her Ukrainian boyfriend, Y.C., by stabbing him with a kitchen knife.

"The accused will spend seven years in jail followed by deportation," presiding judge Mohammad Jamal Kamal said Tuesday.

"I didn't mean it to happen and God saw what happened… I was fighting for my life and when I quarrelled with him, I never imagined myself killing him. It happened but unintentionally and I tried to save him after stabbing the victim," A.F. argued when she defended herself in court.

According to prosecutors, A.F. intentionally murdered Y.C. by stabbing him with a knife.

Prosecution records said the woman was in her villa in Umm Suqeim when she had a heated argument with Y.C. Then, she grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the heart once.

"The blood parents believed that it happened accidentally. They have pardoned me and handed me this written waiver," A.F. said in court.

An Emirati police captain, whose duty was to examine A.F.'s psychological state, told prosecutors: "She suffered a behavioural disorder. Her statement was inconsistent. Her body language proved that she lied. She said she quarrelled with Y.C. and when the latter tried to strangle her, she stabbed him. She tested positive for alcohol. I believe that she was aware of her actions when she committed the crime."

An Emirati policeman said police were contacted about a suicide incident.

"During questioning, she confessed that they had an affair and they constantly quarrelled because of his exaggerated jealousy. On the day of the incident, A.F. claimed she was cooking when Y.C. started drinking because they had a heated argument. She claimed that Y.C. stabbed himself in his heart… then she called the police and ambulance."

Tuesday's judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.