Man gets 10-year jail term for killing carpenter

A friend in need is a friend indeed but sometimes this can backfire, as in the case of a carpenter who interceded with an electrician who owed his friend money, only to be stabbed to death.

The electrician now faces ten years in jail followed by deportation. The Dubai Court of Appeal yesterday upheld the lower court's verdict and convicted the accused of deadly assault that led to the death of Ghulam Mustafa Suddeeq, 30, a Pakistani national.

On May 24 the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the accused and acquitted two other suspects of the same charge.

The General Prosecution had charged the accused, M.H.R., 28, also a Pakistani, and the two suspects, M.T.K., 25, another electrician, and I.I.M., 33, unemployed, both Pakistanis, with assaulting the victim that led to his death.

According to court reports, M.H.R. owed Mohammed Tarek, the victim's friend, Dh900. M.H.R. reportedly refused to repay the debt.

Mohammed asked his friend, Ghulam, to try convincing the accused to repay him. So Ghulam called up the accused and asked that they meet. M.H.R. went to Ghulam's house accompanied by M.T.K. and I.I.M.

The victim and the accused went into a separate room while the two other suspects and Mohammed waited for them.

Their voices were soon raised and the argument turned into a fight. Ghulam shouted out to Mohammed to call the police while preventing M.H.R. from escaping.

The latter grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the chest and armpit. Ghulam died later before reaching the hospital. The police later arrested the murderer.

Ghulam's brother testified that Mohammed had told the victim that M.H.R. had borrowed Dh900 from him after he had promised to issue him a work permit. The accused failed to keep his promise so he only paid back Dh200 and refused to repay the rest.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted M.H.R. and acquitted the two others for lack of evidence.

The accused appealed to the court to reduce the jail term as he hadn't intended to kill the carpenter. The Appeal Court turned down his request and upheld the earlier verdict.