Drunk expat beats girlfriend to death in her Dubai flat

Dubai - He claimed he could not recall the incident as he was under the influence of alcohol.

The Dubai public prosecution has referred a Lebanese man to trial at the Court of First Instance on the charge of premeditatedly murdering his girlfriend.
Prosecutors accused the man of physically assaulting his compatriot girlfriend at her flat by repeatedly beating her up all over her body, causing her brain injury and bleeding that left her motionless in her bed.
Advocate-General Sami Al Shamsi, Bur Dubai prosecution head, has revealed that the defendant came from another emirate to the victim's place in Dubai to party. He consumed a large quantity of alcoholic drinks there. Later, a verbal brawl ensued, which turned into a physical fight with the victim that led to her death, the advocate-general added.
He said that through probe and according to witnesses' statements, it was found that the defendant cleaned up some parts of the blood splatter in the kitchen and the bedroom. The accused also disposed of some of the detergents and blood traces in a bag he dumped in the garbage.
The building security guard spotted him and as the defendant was leaving in a very intoxicated state, he offered him help. But the accused then claimed he was looking for his car. He went away for about an hour and came back claiming he forgot his car keys at the victim's flat.
Senior prosecutor Shoaib Ahli, who handled the investigation, said the body was discovered by the victim's friend. "According to witnesses, the friend went to the victim's place after she could not reach her on the phone. A security guard accompanied her and they found the door open while everything looked normal. However, when she reached the bedroom, she found the victim's body on the bed and blood around it. The woman called the police right away."
During the public prosecution investigation, the defendant admitted to having assaulted his girlfriend. But he claimed he could not recall the incident as he was under the influence of alcohol.
The forensic report showed the victim had bruises on different parts of her body, mainly in her face.
She also suffered head fractures and brain hemorrhage. The report said that the cause of death was the brain injury resulting from the beating. Accordingly, the public prosecution referred the accused to the Court of First Instance to stand trial on a premeditated murder charge and called for the strictest legal penalty possible to be inflicted on him.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai