Dubai: A watchman, who stabbed a woman 66 times and smashed an aquarium over her head after she kicked his bucket, lost his appeal on Wednesday and will be jailed for life.

The 24-year-old Pakistani watchman was mopping the corridor outside the flat of the Filipina woman’s Indian boyfriend when she yelled at him after he asked her to stay inside and kicked the bucket that he had been using.

Following a heated argument, the accused returned armed himself with a fruit knife and a screwdriver and knocked on the door of the flat in the building in Dubai International City.

When the Filipina answered the door, the defendant said he had come to check the fire alarm before forcing his way into the flat. Then he repeatedly stabbed her in the belly until she dropped on the floor but when the knife’s handle broke, he took out the screwdriver to stab her. The victim fought back and prevented him from using the screwdriver before he grabbed another kitchen knife and stabbed her again in February 2016.

When he realised that she was still breathing, the Pakistani accused grabbed an aquarium and smashed it on her head to ensure that she died.

Light injuries and scratches on the watchman’s body helped law enforcement officers discover two days later that he had killed the Filipina.

In August, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the accused for life for premeditatedly killing the woman and two years for stealing her belongings.

Dubai Police’s forensic examiner confirmed that the victim had been stabbed 66 times.

The accused appealed the primary court’s judgement and sought to have jail term reduced by the Appeal Court.

Prosecutors also appealed the ruling and sought to have it stiffened to capital punishment.

On Wednesday, presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm dismissed the two appeals and upheld the life sentence and two-year imprisonment.

“The accused will be deported after serving the jail term,” said presiding judge Bin Sarm.

When he showed up in court, the Pakistani refuted killing the victim intentionally.

Records said the accused had planned in advance to kill the woman as he had armed himself with two weapons. The defendant intended to kill the woman as he stabbed her with the first knife and when she foiled his attempt to stab her with the screwdriver, the defendant stabbed her with another knife that he grabbed from the kitchen.

“I stabbed her but I did not intend to kill her. We had a heated argument and we fought. I caused her death but I didn’t plan to do so in advance,” he told the court.

The Indian boyfriend said the victim had been staying at his flat for nearly 30 months and that he was the one who discovered her body when he returned home at 7.30pm.

A police lieutenant said in the first two days of investigation, the defendant was not among the suspects as he had been cooperating with the police.

“He was very solid and did not seem to have been involved. However, when we noticed several injuries on his body, we asked him about some scratches in his face … he claimed that he had hurt himself while shaving. He also claimed that he hurt his knee when he fell on the ground. We suspected him more … then he admitted to killing the woman because she angered him. He alleged that on the day of the incident, he was mopping the corridor when she walked out. He said he asked her to stay inside until he finished cleaning, but she scolded him and kicked the bucket … then he decided to take revenge.”

The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.