Jail term doubled for Dubai businessman who beat girlfriend to death

The court reversed a five-year jail term handed down earlier to the Lebanese man

A businessman, who beat his compatriot girlfriend to death while he was heavily drunk, has lost appeal as the court doubled his five-year jail term on a premeditated murder charge.
The Dubai Court of Appeals has reversed a five-year jail term handed down earlier to the 41-year-old Lebanese man, and sentenced him instead to 10 years in prison. It upheld the deportation order against him. 
Prosecutors accused the defendant of repeatedly beating the victim, in her 40s, causing her multiple injuries, and skull fracture with a severe bleeding. 
He denied the charge claiming he did not mean to kill the victim.
The man had been referred to the Court of Misdemeanours on the charge of consuming liquor without a permit.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the defendant to five years in jail to be followed by deportation on December 31 last year.
The victim's close friend and workmate raised the alarm on July 25, 2018, after she turned up at her flat in the Dubai Motor City and found her body covered with blood.  "She did not report to work which made the manager request me to check on her. I went with a friend to her place after learning that her sister could not reach her either. The security guard led us outside her flat. The door was open and everything looked normal. However, as we entered the bedroom, we found her lying on the bed. We thought she was sleeping until we saw the blood," said the 29-year-old Lebanese saleswoman.
The building security guard, an Egyptian, recounted how he spotted the defendant walking out of the flat at 3.30am. "He was very drunk. He carried two plastic bags that contained a glass bottle, shampoo, a detergent and a towel. He came back few minutes later saying that he forgot his car keys at the victim's flat."
A police lieutenant said Al Barsha police station received a report about a woman, found dead in circumstances suggesting foul play, at 4pm on July 25. "Blood was all over her place. Some had apparently been cleaned up." 
The lieutenant added that after talking to the security guard, they gathered information about the victim's boyfriend who had spent the night of 24-25 July with her. "We learned he was a frequent visitor. Upon his arrest, he said he arrived at her place at 10pm and partied together. At some point, they had a quarrel and she slapped him. He confessed he slapped her repeatedly until she bled from her nose and then in the bedroom. He claimed he left after she did not let him take her to the hospital." 
According to the forensic report, the cause of death was the brain injury and haemorrhage resulting from the severe beating.

mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Marie Nammour

• mary@khaleejtimes.com