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Dubai: Man sentenced to life in prison for killing friend, attempting to flee UAE
The accused attempted to flee the country with help from his father, who coordinated with his other son who resides abroad
- PUBLISHED: Fri 27 Dec 2024, 4:42 PM UPDATED: Fri 27 Dec 2024, 9:34 PM
An Australian man who stabbed his friend to death in an apartment in Dubai and attempted to flee the country, was sentenced to life in prison by the Dubai Criminal Court.
The perpetrator was living in a Jumeirah Beach Residence building and had attacked his friend during a personal dispute on October 26, 2022.
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The court heard that the altercation began around midnight on the day of the incident and escalated into violence.
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The victim's body was discovered the following morning, October 27, 2022, by the attacker's female friend.
In court records, the woman testified that she met the accused, who informed her that he had an argument with his friend, the victim, and asked her to visit the apartment and check on him.
When the woman entered the apartment at JBR Walk, she found the victim's lifeless body and called the police at 11.52am to report the incident.
Investigations revealed that the accused's father was in the apartment on the day of the incident but not when it happened.
During questioning, the father said he was called to the apartment unaware of the murder.
He said he had an argument with his son and he left the apartment and when he returned nearly three hours later, he saw the victim's body covered with sheets and the floor stained with blood.
When he asked his son about the incident, the accused started acting bizarrely and tried to silence his father by gagging him.
Rather than reporting the crime, the father coordinated with his other son, who resides in Australia, to book a hotel room in Sharjah for the accused son and arrange his return to Australia.
However, the accused was apprehended the following day at his hotel in Sharjah.
He was charged with premeditated murder.
He was found guilty and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment to be followed by deportation. Issued on December 23, 2024, the verdict remains subject to appeal within 14 days.
A life in prison in the UAE is typically 25 years.
The father was charged with failing to report the crime. Under UAE law, it is mandatory to inform authorities of any crime unless the person is a close relative of the perpetrator, in which case leniency may be applied.
In court, the father said he was too shocked and afraid of his son to report the crime. Judges waived the prison sentence citing his old age and relationship to the offender.
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