Technician fatally flogs friend over insults

Dubai: a technician, who logged his friend to death for insulting him and his wife during a drunken dispute, saw four years being added to his punishment on Sunday.

The asian air-conditioning technician, 42, thumped the countryman using a piece of wood on various parts of his body inside a construction site in Al Quoz on April 28, prosecutors said on Jul.13.

During court questioning, he argued, “No. I did not intend to kill him. We brawled following a spate of disputes. I assaulted him in self-defence.” Prosecutors demanded a severe penalty.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced him to three years in jail to be followed by deportation. He appealed for mercy. On the other hand, prosecutors appealed and demanded a tougher penalty.

Prosecutors said he confessed to the violent assault during prosecution questioning. The Appeals Court rejected his clemency plea, considered the prosecutors’ demand and jailed him for seven years.

An Emirati lieutenant said police found the body in the villa’s ground-loor sitting room. The body had contusions on the arms and legs. An Indian watchman, 50, at the site disclosed that there was foul play in the case. At the Criminal Investigations department, the technician confessed to the murder and narrated that on April 27 he, the deceased and two other friends abused alcohol inside a nearby construction site.

The deceased then received a call from the watchman notifying him that he left him a meal inside the site where he worked. Around 9pm, the technician escorted the deceased to share the meal.

They were eating and consuming alcohol brought by the watchman when a heated argument broke out after the deceased drunkenly insulted the technician and hurled insults targeting his wife.

The technician walked out of the room boiling with anger, returned with a heavy piece of wood, whacked the deceased until the latter collapsed.