Dubai: A technician lost his appeal against life sentence for killing his workmate by dropping a rock on him from an eighth floor rooftop.

The 25-year-old Indian technician and his friends threw a farewell party for their coworkers and went to dine at a restaurant where the technician quarrelled with restaurant’s manager.

All the coworkers who were kicked out from the restaurant and were walking back to their labour accommodation when the Indian victim blamed the technician for mistreating the restaurant’s manager.

The victim and the 25-year-old technician had a heated argument before the victim pushed the technician, who fell down in March 2016.

When all of them reached near an 8-storey under-construction building [near their accommodation] they sat down there to consume liquor. The technician then excused himself and said he had to go up to the roof to pick up his laundry. There he rolled a big rock to the edge of the roof from where he dropped it over the victim’s head, killing him instantly.

In February, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the 25-year-old defendant for life for premeditated murder of his countryman and injuring another.

The accused appealed his life sentence and when he appeared before the Appeal Court, he pleaded not guilty and argued that he threw the rock but did not intend to kill the victim.

Presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm rejected the defendant’s appeal and upheld his life sentence.

The accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment, according to the appellate judgement.

A police sergeant said the defendant told him during questioning that he threw the rock on the victim and another co-worker.

“The defendant said the deceased offended him and blamed him after he mistreated the restaurant manager ... he claimed that the victim had been angry at him for being thrown out of the restaurant. He claimed that he wanted revenge after the victim pushed him and he fell down. When they sat underneath the building to drink alcohol, according to the defendant’s statement, he went up to the roof and threw the rock on the victim. He said that when he went down, the victim was motionless and bled profusely from his head … his other co-worker was injured,” the sergeant testified.

The 29-year-old Indian co-worker, who was injured, said he saw the defendant looking down from the roof instantly after the rock fell on him and the deceased.

He said the rock fell four minutes after the defendant had left them.

“I tried to wake up the victim but he was motionless and unconscious as he bled profusely from his head. Police arrived shortly after we called them … paramedics said the victim had died instantly,” he said.

The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 28 days.