Dubai: A committee of specialists will assess the sanity of a jobless man accused of luring his friend to a residential area and stabbing him to death.

The Emirati, 23, was reported to have called his compatriot friend and asked him to meet him in Oud Al Mutaina in January 2018.

The unsuspecting victim went to the address and met the 23-year-old man who took out a 50-centimetre-long sword and stabbed him repeatedly.

An off-duty policeman, who happened to be driving back to his residence, saw the suspect attacking the victim with the sword.

Once the victim dropped motionless, the 23-year-old jumped onto his quad bike and drove off quickly, even as the policeman rushed to the aid of the victim.

The suspect pleaded not guilty and denied the charge of killing his friend with a sword when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

On Sunday, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi said the Emirati suspect will be referred to a special committee of psychiatrists to examine his sanity and decide whether he was responsible and aware of his actions at the time when the incident happened.

The suspect’s lawyer defended that his client did not have criminal intention and asked the court to refer his client for a sanity assessment to decide whether he was liable for his actions.

Records said while a plain-clothed policeman was approaching, the victim stood up and tried to walk but fell down again following a few steps.

The witness [policeman] called the police and called for an ambulance.

The stabbed person was rushed to hospital but he succumbed to his wounds.

The suspect was not aware that the victim had died when he went and surrendered himself at the police station.

When he appeared in court, the suspect denied the accusations of premeditatedly killing the victim with a sword and consuming amphetamine and methamphetamine.

The reasons behind the assault remained undisclosed in the available records.

The Emirati witness [off-duty policeman] told prosecutors that he spotted the suspect stabbing the victim at 11.30pm.

“I had just dropped my cousin to his place and was heading home when I saw the victim being brutally stabbed by the suspect. I witnessed the attacker repeatedly stabbing the victim, who tried to protect himself with his arm. The attacks were very strong and severe … I saw the deceased being stabbed in his chest, head and arms. I stopped instantly and called the police … the suspect absconded on his quad bike. The victim was still conscious and when I asked him if he knew the attacker, he said no,” he told prosecutors.

A police lieutenant told prosecutors that the suspect turned himself in shortly after the assault and was not aware that the victim had died.

The committee is expected to hand in its report to court on September 16.