Dubai: A worker lost his appeal and will be jailed for life for getting drunk and stabbing a man to death after the latter had barged into their Christmas party in 2016.

The 36-year-old Sri Lankan worker was enjoying Christmas Eve with his brother and friends when his countryman came with two others to the party at their residence.

The countryman brought up some previous disputes and had a heated spat before he cursed the 36-year-old.

Blinded with anger, the 36-year-old accused rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed the victim in his stomach. The victim died on the spot.

The defendant surrendered himself after spending two days at large.

In December, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 36-year-old of intentionally murdering his countryman and drinking.

The accused appealed his primary judgement and asked the Appeal Court to reduce his punishment.

When he appeared before the appellate court, the defendant pleaded not guilty and contended that he acted in self-defence as it was the deceased, who had attacked him first.

On Sunday, presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif dismissed the appeal and upheld the life sentence against the defendant, who will be deported following the completion of his punishment.

The accused’s younger brother testified that the incident happened after the victim barged into the house while they were celebrating Christmas.

“My brother, I and 10 friends were dining and celebrating Christmas at our residence at Hor Al Anz. Suddenly, the defendant and two acquaintances crashed into the party. They indulged in a heated argument with my brother and cursed him. He got angry, went to the kitchen from where he brought a knife. When I tried to convince him to calm down, he grabbed my neck and asked me not to interfere. My wife grabbed me and asked me to stay away. Five minutes later, I heard my wife saying that my brother had stabbed the victim in his belly,” he said.

A policeman said the accused turned himself in two days after the incident.

“During questioning, the defendant said he had a previous dispute with the victim, who used to be his flatmate. He said once the deceased broke open his room’s door and stole his Dh200 … On the day of the incident, the defendant said the victim cursed him and spoke badly about his family before he stabbed him,” the policeman testified.

The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.