Two guilty of negligence in dancer's death case

Dubai: A club manager and a dancer have been found guilty of negligently causing a fire in a flat where a Pakistani dancer, Aaina Malek, suffocated.

The 40-year-old Indian manager, D.K., and his 22-year-old compatriot dancer, P.S., have been sentenced to two months in jail and fined Dh3,000 each, according to the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours which sentenced them on Sunday.

Presiding Judge Ebrahim Khalil Abu Shamma also ordered the two to pay Aaina's family Dh200,000 in blood money. The court decided that D.K. and P.S. were responsible for the fire which broke out due to their negligence. The Pakistani victim's body was found in the flat where she suffocated.

The Public Prosecution earlier charged the duo with locking up the victim against her will in the Bur Dubai flat and negligently causing her death in the accidental fire.

The Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted them of unlawfully detaining Aaina, who records said suffocated after inhaling carbon monoxide, because she had agreed to be locked in the flat.

According to the verdict sheet, the court decided that the crime of illegal detention did not occur "because the victim, like other dancers, agreed to be kept behind closed doors".

The Courts of Cassation and Appeal confirmed their acquittal (concerning the illegal detention).

A security guard testified that a key was kept in the flat where the fire broke out for the dancers to exit, especially in emergencies.

However, two other girls living there, including a dancer, testified that the dancers did not have a spare key in the flat.

A 22-year-old Nepalese female dancer, J.C., who was prosecuted in a separate case, was jailed for accidentally causing the fire after she reportedly lit an oil lamp to perform a ritual. J.C. left the lamp lit and headed to work before the flat caught fire and caused Aaina's death.

The security guard told the court earlier that the flat is usually locked from outside for the dancers' safety against intruders but they do keep a spare key inside for emergencies.

Meanwhile the two other girls said that had there been a key in the flat, nothing would have happened.

D.K. and P.S. denied the charges and pleaded not guilty earlier.

A Pakistani dancer, T.N., testified: "P.S. locked the door from outside before going to work. Aaina and I stayed inside the flat. Suddenly the smell of smoke started coming out from one of the bedrooms.

"I opened the door to check what was happening and smoke filled the flat. Then somebody broke down the door and took me out of the flat. None of the girls is allowed to leave the flat without the management's permission."

A Bangladeshi watchman testified: "We took out one girl and I couldn't see inside the flat which was covered with smoke. The rescuers also pulled out a second girl who was unconscious."

The Court of Misdemeanor's ruling is still subject to appeal.