Your report, Spence found guilty of attempted murder of Emirati sisters (October 22), said that Philip Spence is likely to receive a whole-life sentence. I believe he deserves the toughest punishment for this crime.
His brutal assault on these helpless women in the middle of the night changed their lives forever and he should not be spared.
He nearly killed them for the sake of some money that he desperately needed to feed his drug addiction.
It is sad that these sisters’ young children had to witness such violence – it will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Fatima Suhail, Sharjah
This was a horrific crime and I believe this punishment, if imposed, will be fully deserved.
I feel incredibly sad for the victims in this case and their family.
Christine Hinz, Abu Dhabi
It’s scary how a little twist of fate can destroy someone’s life and future.
No punishment will ever be enough or make what he did better. I hope this family will find the strength to put their lives back together.
Ivana Maglione, Dubai
Columnists will be sorely missed
I am sorry to see that some of your long-time columnists are no longer writing for The National.
I used to enjoy Lavanya Malhotra's chronicle of her life (Teen Life, then later Uni Life) as she matured from being a young schoolgirl into a university student.
Now I see that Hala Khalaf, the mother of Baby A, will no longer be entertaining us with her weekly column, Married Life.
This is such a shame. But it is good to see that Colin Randall still keeps us informed.
I’m still adjusting to the new layout of the Arts & Life and Sport sections. I find it much harder to do the crossword late at night.
I will be leaving Dubai in June, unfortunately, so will have to continue following The National on the web. Please don’t change that!
Gail Gordon, Dubai
Congratulations on The National’s new slimmer look.
Maybe it is now time for us to take a hint and also go on a diet?
Mohamed Kanoo, Abu Dhabi
Restrictions will help new drivers
With regard to your editorial, New drivers need more supervision (October 21), I think they need more than that.
They also need to be made to display on the car the fact they are on a learner’s permit, have their speed limited to 80kph, a maximum engine size of two litres – with no turbocharged engines – and only 12 black points. These restrictions should remain for three years.
This solved the problem in Australia and could work here.
John Paravalos, Dubai
Pistorius case prompts debate
The prison term imposed on Oscar Pistorius seems to be eliciting mixed reactions (Oscar Pistorius jailed five years for culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp, October 22).
It seems to me that in this case, justice has been delivered and the guilty party has been punished.
K Ragavan, India
GCC rail would be an epic trip
Your story, Optimism that GCC rail network will be delivered in 2017 (October 22), is great. I can't wait to take the train from Muscat to Sharjah and then on to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Bahrain and Kuwait city.
Fouad Ahmed, UK
This will be the best train ride in the world.
Ziggy Darwish, Dubai
Tenants earned improvements
In reference to the advice column by Mario Volpi, Can tenant take artificial grass and swimming pool when leaving Dubai villa?, surely this cannot be a problem so long as everything is as it was when the tenant moved into the property.
I would suggest that all tenants and their landlords take dated photographs of the property on the moving-in date.
Pauline Redding, Dubai
If they paid for these items and had them installed, then I believe they are entitled to take them with them once the tenancy ends.
However, I also believe the tenants would have to restore the property back to its original condition.
Michael Tresp, Abu Dhabi
