Drunk Dubai expat beats sleeping man to death, jailed

Dubai - A body was found dumped in a yard behind a mall in Al Quoz industrial area.

A 31-year-old expat, who assaulted a compatriot to death for sleeping at his spot in a yard, has been sentenced to three years in jail by the Dubai Court of First Instance. He will be deported after serving his jail term and paying a fine of Dh300,000.
Public prosecution records show that the Indian man, who was drunk, punched and kicked the victim repeatedly all over his body, causing him injuries that led to his death.
A policeman said that on August 18, they were alerted about a body found dumped in a yard behind a mall in Al Quoz industrial area.
"We went to the scene and spoke to a security guard. He said that he found the body in the morning near a car."
The police tracked down the defendant after getting clues of his involvement in the crime.
He was arrested and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
During interrogation, the police learned from the accused that he assaulted the victim repeatedly with his bare hands. There were no surveillance cameras and no one witnessed the incident that happened at a late hour.
The defendant was drunk when he committed the crime. "He was sleeping on the incident night in the yard when he woke up to see the victim sleeping next to him. He had earlier warned him of not taking his spot there," the policeman told the investigator.
The accused expat admitted to the CID officers that after assaulting the victim, he went to sleep in a pick-up truck. He woke up the next morning and found workers crowding around the victim, who was motionless. The accused knew then the victim was dead and so, he fled the scene.
The accused claimed to the police he did not mean to kill the victim but just hurt him.
During the public prosecution investigation, the defendant admitted to having assaulted the victim. He claimed, however, he had no intention of killing him. On September 1, the defendant led the police to the crime scene.
According to the forensic report, the victim's body bore many bruises to the face, contusions to the abdomen and chest and ribs fractures. He was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his death.
These factors contributed to his heart failure and the blood circulation problems causing his death.
The ruling may be appealed.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai