Man gets life sentence in murder made to look like suicide

Ras Al Khaimah - The court upheld a life sentence and blood money of Dh200,000.

The Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court has upheld a life sentence and blood money of Dh200,000 issued by the lower court against an African man convicted of killing his colleague.
The court cleared the defendant of the charge of attempted suicide by taking poison used for killing cattle bugs following his premeditated crime.
The suspect purposefully put some on the victim's mouth to make it look like a suicide pact to mislead the police.
Court records show that the suspect reportedly murdered his colleague, who was apparently his friend, at a farm in Ras Al Khaimah following a heated argument over a dispute.
A fellow worker of the duo told the farm owner who alerted the police. The CID men and all bodied concerned rushed to the scene where the defendant was found unconscious after taking the poison. They also discovered the body of his friend.
The accused tried to mislead the police by putting poison in the victim's mouth and consuming some himself to make it appear as if they both had tried to end their lives, it was revealed following a probe.
The police established that the worker had died due to excessive bleeding after the suspect beat him hard while the victim was asleep at the farm, where they used to work together.
The RAK Public Prosecution charged the defendant with premeditated murder and referred him to the RAK Criminal Court.
The court ordered to undertake a medical examination of the defendant, as per the request of the defence lawyer.
However, the official forensic report showed that the suspect is mentally sound and responsible for his actions.
The suspect admitted before the court to have beaten the victim over some disputes but affirmed that he didn't mean to kill him.
The eye witness, a fellow worker, said that he was sleeping in his room at the night of the crime when the defendant dashed into his room at around 1 am. He told me that our colleague had committed suicide by eating poison, and asked me to call the farm owner.
When checking, the eye witness saw the victim lying down on the ground and breathing with difficulty, while water was coming out of his mouth.
He added that he saw the suspect walking after him with water running out of his mouth. "He told me that he ate from the same poison as well."
The eye witness said the victim passed away in front of him, but he did not see the suspect while committing his crime.
The court turned down the suspect's allegations and affirmed the jail term passed against him, and ordered him to pay blood money to the heirs of the victim.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Ras Al Khaimah