Death sentence upheld for man who slit prostitute's throat

Dubai: A man has been sentenced to death by firing squad for slitting a prostitute’s throat and stealing Dh200 from her wallet.

A.K.’s appeal to have his sentence commuted was rejected on Wednesday as an appeals court upheld the capital punishment handed down by a lower court.

The 30-year-old Pakistani had pleaded not guilty saying he did not intend to kill the Uzbek woman. premediated murder.

All three judges at the Court of First Instance where the case initially dragged on because of a lack of translator unanimously agreed on the capital punishment.

Records showed A.K. killed the woman in cold blood and went to a mosque to pray. In court, A.K. testified: “She deserved to die.”

The convict said the prostitute stole Dh6,000 from him one evening after he slept with her in a Muraqqabat flat.

“That evening, she slipped alcohol into my drink that knocked me unconscious and then she stole my money. It was the first time I ever consumed alcohol. Later, when I found out that she had stolen my money, I asked her to return the money, but she refused.”

A.K. said he showed the victim a Quranic verse and begged her to return his money, claiming he was poor. According to his testimony, she hit his hand and mocked him.

“I already had a knife with me, so I turned her around so that her back was facing me and slit her throat,” A.K. said.

Following the murder, A.K. went to a mosque. The murder weapon found at the crime scene had a barcode which led police to the shop from where it was bought.

CCTV footage at the shop showed the Pakistani man buying the knife. On February 21, the Court of First Instance sentenced him to death, which the Court of Appeals upheld on Wednesday.