Death penalty for man who killed lover's husband

Sharjah: The Sharia Court of First Instance has sentenced to death a man accused of murdering his lover's husband while the woman faces life imprisonment.

They were both accused of beating up the husband with a club and burning his face with acid.

The victim's little son watched his dad being murdered.

The body of the murdered man in his 40s, was dumped in Al Dhaid Road in Al Barashi area in Sharjah.

The court issued a ruling against R.B., a 27-year-old Indian, who was sentenced to death.

His 26-year-old lover S.M.A., also Indian, faces life imprisonment for her part in the brutal murder of M.A.A, her Pakistani husband.

The woman was also ordered to pay Dh100,000 as blood money.

The wife told police that her husband was an alcoholic who would abuse her.

She wanted to leave him and return to her country with her son.

Bad marriage

Police said that three days after the murder, the wife went to the police station with her husband's photo claiming that he had left home and not come back.

Investigations revealed that the woman and her husband were not in good terms with each other.

During questioning, the woman admitted that her boyfriend had killed her husband. She said she did not want to kill him and only wanted him beaten up. Her boyfriend was arrested while he was trying to leave the country through Dubai airport.

The woman told police that on the day of the crime she picked up her boyfriend, who hid in the back seat of the car.

She said her husband was drunk and her lover took him to Al Dhaid Road. When they reached Bridge No 7 they drove to Al Barashi area.

The accused pulled the drunk husband out of the car and then they beat him with a club and burnt him on the face with acid.

The boyfriend told the court that he was forced by police to confess. The lawyer of the accused told the court that he did not mean to kill the victim.

The woman was not sentenced to death for her crime because she is the mother of the victim's son and in this case the son is considered as one of the blood relatives who must demand capital punishment.

However, under Sharia a son cannot seek the death penalty of his parents, so the woman was given life imprisonment and ordered to pay blood money.

The family of the victim refused the blood money and asked for the capital punishment.

Both the accused have appealed against the initial verdict and the Sharjah Appeal Court is now reviewing the death sentence against R.B and the life imprisonment against S.M.A.