A Yemeni man has been sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering a mother and her two daughters in Ras Al Khaimah.
The man was found guilty of intentional murder, attempted murder and issuing death threats in a judgment at Ras Al Khaimah Criminal Court this week.
The fatal shooting occurred in a residential neighbourhood shortly before midnight on May 7 last year. The court was told the mother and her daughters were at home when an argument over a blocked driveway escalated, with prosecutors saying the man, 56, used a vehicle and an illegal firearm in the attack.
The three killed were identified in court only as a mother, 66, and her daughters, aged 36 and 38. A third daughter, 47, survived the attack.
The convicted man’s son was sentenced to six months in prison for attempted murder and an additional three months for threatening to kill another member of the family. He was also fined Dh10,000 ($2,720) and ordered to pay a court fee of Dh100.
Maher Wafai, from Syria, whose mother and two of his sisters were killed, told The National he was overwhelmed when he heard the verdict in the courtroom.
“I can’t even describe my happiness when I was in the courtroom hearing a judge give the killer a death sentence,” said Mr Wafai.
“I still have bitterness … from losing my family in such a horrible way but the verdict was enough. Justice prevailed.”
Mr Wafai’s surviving sister, who was injured in the shooting, broke down and cried when she was told of the verdict.
“She couldn’t hold back her tears when I told her the news over the phone,” Mr Wafai. “We have long waited for justice. I didn’t lose faith in the UAE’s justice system. We always asked for the toughest penalty for the killer for the horrible crime he did.”
Deadly parking dispute
Speaking last year after the incident, Mr Wafai explained what happened on the night. “My mother and [my] sisters were in the house when my neighbour arrived and became angry over [someone] blocking the road. He claimed my sister’s car was blocking the narrow road to his house.”
Mr Wafai said his 36-year-old sister went outside and became involved in an argument with the man.
“She went to the car to give him more space, when he ran over her,” Mr Wafai added. “He then stepped out with a gun and shot her. I don’t know what happened and what he was thinking in that moment.
When his 38-year-old sister then went outside, Mr Wafai said the gunman shot her too.
“She stepped outside the house with her 11-year-old son, trying to call the police, when he shot her in the neck.”
The attacker then aimed his gun at the boy but Mr Wafai's sister, despite already being injured, blocked the bullet with the palm of her hand and the boy managed to escape.
“Then my mother went outside yelling and he shot her in the head,” said Mr Wafai.
Ras Al Khaimah Police arrived within minutes and arrested the Yemeni man. While Mr Wafai's 38-year-old sister did not die at the scene, her injuries were so severe that she died in hospital four days later. His 47-year-old sister has since recovered.
The verdict will be subject to appeal within 15 days. According to UAE law, to execute anyone sentenced to death, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation must uphold the initial verdict.
