Pakistani man admits to killing wife in Sharjah

Sharjah - He said fights led to stabbing.

A Pakistani man who killed his wife in their room in Sharjah said he killed her due to the constant fights they had between them. The family, however, believes that the husband was jealous of his wife who was the only earning member of the family.
The 37-year-old accused, M.Kh lived in a rented room in a three-bedroom apartment in Abu Shagara, Sharjah.
During police interrogation and court hearing the accused confessed to the crime and presented the wife's death certificate. The couple has a son.
The accused said he stabbed his wife, Zaheera, on the left side of her neck and in the chest near the heart and that she died on the spot.
The crime took place at 11.45pm on January 30 this year.
During the court hearing on Wednesday, an eyewitness who lives in the same flat, next to the room of the accused, told presiding judge Hussain Al Ousofi that he heard the woman screaming. When he opened the door he saw the victim bleeding from the neck. As he entered the room, the accused walked out of the room, he added.
"I asked the accused why he killed her and he answered 'I killed her' without giving any reason."
Another woman who lives in the same apartment testified that she did not see the accused killing the woman but that she heard her scream. She also went to their room and saw the victim's neck bleeding. She then collapsed and died before ambulance arrived.
"The accused tried to run out, but I held on to him and we called the ambulance and the police," she added.
The judge confronted the accused with testimonies of the witness and the accused admitted that he had killed his wife and that the testimonies were correct, except that he did not attempt to run.
Family wants qasas
The sister of the victim has presented an appeal to the judge who asked her to bring a letter from the family, whether they want the qasas or will pardon the accused and receive diya (blood money). The case has been adjourned to November 28.
The sister of the victim told Khaleej Times that her family will not pardon the accused and that they wanted the qasas. She added that she has been given the authorisation to follow up the case. According to her, her sister has been married to the accused for seven years and they had six-year-old child.
A close relative who accompanied the sister to the court said the accused never worked and that his wife had been bearing all expenses all these years. He said the victim had come to UAE just six months ago and that she worked in a shopping mall in Sharjah. She then brought her husband for a month and they were very happy. The wife was confident that he would find a job, he said.
After that he asked her to arrange for a three-month visit visa so that he could find some work. The wife had told him to wait for some time so that she could save some money to bring him here. She even took a loan which the husband had promised to repay.
However, after he came he refused to keep his promise.
"Later we heard that he borrowed Rs40,000 rupees from the victim's sister," the relative said. "We think this may be have been the cause of the fight as the wife was always complaining about the husband not working and how he always borrowed from her family.
We would always tell her to be patient as we thought that he was a good person. We never thought he would do this to his wife."
amira@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah