Carpenter on trial over killing drunken worker

A carpenter allegedly beat a drunken worker to death after the latter verbally abused his family, the Court of First Instance heard on Thursday.

The Public Prosecution accused the 29-year-old Bangladeshi defendant of punching the Asian victim strongly many times on the face and chest with his fist with the intention of killing him. After beating him up, the defendant stole his mobile phone and wallet.

The defendant told the prosecutor that the incident happened in October last year when he met the victim at a bus stop in Dubai Investment Park (DIP) around 10.30pm. The victim, who was very drunk, asked him to walk him home. When reaching a dark location near a road, the victim allegedly relieved himself in his pants. When the defendant blamed him for that, the victim allegedly verbally abused him and his family. The defendant could not control his anger and punched him many times on the face and chest till he collapsed.

Even after falling to the ground, the victim allegedly kept verbally abusing him and the defendant kept punching him. The accused stopped when he realised that the victim was hardly breathing and his face bleeding. He took the victim’s mobile phone and wallet and left the scene.

The forensic expert, who examined the body, saw that it had multiple face injuries and swelling in the head. It bore also bruises which could be the result of the punches.

The body was found lying face down with the head on a slope, which is a position that blocks breathing with the injuries the person had. The forensic examination could not confirm whether the injuries directly caused the victim’s death.

The expert added that he saw dirt on the body which could suggest foul play being the reason behind the death.

A policeman said that they arrested the defendant from an under-construction site on Jumeirah Palm Island. He admitted that he had beaten the victim up and stole his belongings. He denied that he knew him before the attack.

The body was found on a roadside in DIP by a Bangladeshi worker who was cleaning the road about 12 hours after the death. It was half buried.— mary@khaleejtimes.com