Worker Accused of Stabbing his Workmate to Death in Dubai

Knife with a drop of blood (AFP/File Photo)

A construction worker has been accused of stabbing his workmate to death in a drunken state and attempting to stab another who tried to halt the assault.

A 29-year-old  worker was said to be in front of his bedroom at the labour accommodation where he lives when he heard a heated argument and loud cries in December.

Once he rushed towards the voice, he saw his roommate bleeding as a result of, according to records, being stabbed by the 26-year-old Indian worker at 7.30pm.
The worker rushed to stop the fight between his two countrymen.

Several co-workers saw the 26-year-old stabbing the victim and also trying to knife the 29-year-old who tried to stop the assault and rescue his injured roommate.

The accused, who was drunk, stabbed the 29-year-old and injured his wrist as the latter tried to restrain the attacker from pursuing the knife assault.

Police and an ambulance were called in to the accommodation in Jebel Ali area.
Prosecutors accused the suspect of premeditatedly murdering his workmate and assaulting another workmate with a knife.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the suspect intended to kill the victim by stabbing him twice in his chest.

The suspect pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday.
“I did not kill him,” he told presiding judge Shaikha Hamad.

The injured worker told prosecutors that the suspect stabbed him as well once he intervened to stop the fight between the suspect and the deceased.

“The victim was my roommate. I heard him crying in pain as he was outside … I saw the suspect stabbing him with a sharp tool. I rushed to stop the two from fighting before the suspect stabbed me as well and injured me. The suspect was drunk … other workers intervened and stopped the assault. They called an ambulance and the victim was rushed to the hospital,” he testified to prosecutors.

Another worker told prosecutors that the suspect and the victim indulged in a fight in the corridor before it was stopped the first time.

“Later, the suspect started attacking the victim again with a knife. He was under the influence of liquor,” he testified to prosecutors.

Dubai Police’s forensic examiner confirmed that the man succumbed to severe stab wounds in the heart and chest.

Presiding judge Hamad said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect when it reconvenes on April 8.

This article has been adapted from its original source.