Dubai Three men have been jailed for 15 years each for fatally stabbing a barber following a heated argument in Naif area while the trio had been out drinking.
The three defendants, two unemployed Emiratis and a 21-year-old Pakistani carpenter had been consuming liquor in an open area in January 2017 when the Pakistani barber approached them and asked them if they were selling alcohol.
The barber, who was heavily drunk, got into a heated argument with one of the Emirati defendants that soon turned into a physical fight.
The trio assaulted the barber, who received stab wounds in his stomach and thighs and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Police were alerted about the crime and primary interrogations led to the trio’s arrest.
During police interrogation, the carpenter said one of the Emiratis had sought to have sex with him but when he refused, the latter attacked him with a knife.
On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the three defendants to 15 years each for murdering the barber and resorting to physical violence.
Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi also handed one of the Emiratis, aged 27, three years in jail for trying to rape the carpenter under coercion and at knifepoint.
The carpenter had foiled the attempted sexual assault and fled after he was stabbed in his leg, said records.
The Pakistani defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The defendants pleaded not guilty and denied the murder accusation.
The 27-year-old defendant also denied having tried to rape the carpenter at knifepoint.
A Pakistani barber said the incident happened when he had gone along with the victim to buy alcohol from behind a hotel in Naif area at 12.30am.
“My co-worker [victim] had a heated argument with one of the bootleggers over the price of a bottle, the bootlegger immediately ran away. My co-worker then walked towards a group of men and asked them if they were selling liquor, I overheard one of them speaking to him in Arabic. Then my co-worker and that person had a heated argument that developed into a fight. My co-worker was stabbed by a number of men and dropped dead on the ground while the assailants fled. I borrowed a pedestrian’s mobile phone and called the police,” the barber said.
A police lieutenant testified that investigations at the crime scene pointed to the involvement of the trio in the deadly knife attack.
“We apprehended them. During questioning, they said they had a heated argument with the victim and assaulted him. The carpenter claimed that the 27-year-old tried to rape him and stabbed him with a knife when he resisted him,” the lieutenant testified.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
