Dubai A worker, who knifed his co-worker to death following a year of alleged sexual abuse, has been jailed for seven years.

The 22-year-old Pakistani worker was walking outside in Al Qouz around 11pm when his countryman co-worker phoned him and asked him to come immediately because he wanted to have sex with him in September 2017.

The victim’s request enraged the 22-year-old who went to a store, purchased a knife for Dh22 and went to meet his countryman in a parking lot.

Once he arrived, the co-worker grabbed his arm and asked him to go with him to his room to have sex with him.

The 22-year-old refused until the latter dragged him by clutching his clothes. At this, the worker took out the hidden knife and stabbed him four times in his chest and belly. The co-worker walked a few steps and collapsed on the ground.

The defendant sat down beside his co-worker, who was breathing his last, apologised to him for what he had done and cried.

A crowd of pedestrians spotted what had happened and gathered around them before one of them called the police.

On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of stabbing the victim and killing him.

Citing grounds of leniency, the court handed the defendant a seven-year imprisonment after he contended that he did not intend to kill him and acted in self-defence.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the murder weapon will be confiscated and the accused will be deported after serving his jail term.

A police sergeant said the accused tried to run away from the parking lot when he spotted the police car arriving.

“I stepped out of the police car quickly and chased him because he seemed to have been involved in the stabbing as his clothes were covered with blood. Once I stopped him, he seemed scared, confused and nervous. I walked him towards the stabbed person, who was still breathing heavily then … we called an ambulance that rushed the victim to the hospital. On-site inspections revealed that the suspect had thrown the murder weapon between two parked buses nearby. Upon following up with the operations room, we were informed that the victim died before reaching the hospital. The suspect alleged that he stabbed the victim in a fit of revenge,” the sergeant told prosecutors.

The defendant told prosecutors that the victim had been abusing him sexually for a year and had constantly coerced him to have sex with him under the threat of having him sacked from work.

Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.