Dubai: A worker denied murder charge in a court on Monday and said he acted in self-defence after being assaulted by a co-worker.

The 23-year-old Indian worker allegedly had a heated argument before it led to a physical fight with his countryman at their labour accommodation in Al Quoz Industrial area in September.

Workers in the labour accommodation saw the victim chasing the 23-year-old suspect, according to records, before he collapsed and died in a corridor after having sustained several knife wounds.

Police arrested the suspect following investigations. Prosecutors accused the suspect of repeatedly stabbing his countryman with a knife and killing him.

“I did not intend to kill him. I was defending myself since he was the one who had initiated the assault. He pushed me off an edge and I fell down and fractured my arm,” contended the suspect as he entered a not guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

When presiding judge Urfan Omar asked the suspect about his bandaged arm, the 23-year-old pointed to several metal nails that had been used in a surgery to fix his arm.

He argued that he acted in self-defence and did not intend to kill the victim.

A Pakistani technician told prosecutors that he saw the suspect running away from the victim, who was shouting before he suddenly stopped and fell down.

“I had just walked out of the washroom when I heard cries. I saw the victim running behind the suspect … the victim suddenly stopped running, and when he turned towards me, I saw his shirt covered with blood. Then he collapsed on the ground. Meanwhile the suspect jumped over the 15-metre high iron edge at the end of the corridor. I called an ambulance and the police. Police found a knife at the accommodation where the suspect was believed to have stabbed the victim,” the technician told prosecutors.

The accommodation’s Cameroonian supervisor told prosecutors that the suspect had cancelled his visa and was scheduled to fly back to India the same day when the incident occurred.

“Two workers spotted the victim chasing the suspect before he collapsed … it was deduced that the suspect was running away from the victim after he had stabbed him,” the supervisor told prosecutors.

A lawyer will be appointed to defend the suspect when the court reconvenes on December 21.