Inmate serving life term gets seven more years for arson

Dubai: An inmate, currently serving a life sentence for an arson case involving Bur Dubai Police Station in 2001, had another seven years added to his sentence after a court Sunday convicted him of deliberately setting fire to a cell in Dubai Central Prison last September.

The Dubai Court of First Instance found the 32-year-old Emirati inmate, S.I., guilty of arson. He had been charged with damaging the wall and floors of the Dubai Central Prison cell.

Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir slapped him with a seven year sentence. S.I. is already serving a life sentence, which amounts to 25 years in prison under the country's laws, for a similar arson case committed at Bur Dubai Police Station.

According to the charge sheet, the defendant set fire to his blanket using electric wires connected to a battery which generated heat. He was also charged with intentionally damaging property belonging to a government department.

Confession

According to prosecution records, the inmate confessed to deliberately setting fire in his cell as part of a plan to be released from solitary confinement.

An Emirati jail warden told the court that the incident happened during his shift at Building 3 of the Central Prison.

The defendant wanted to be moved to a cell where drug convicts were being held, according to records.

Sunday's judgment is still subject to appeal within 15 days.