Attempted murder appeal halted after death of prison inmate in Dubai

The 39-year-old Indian was appealing his seven-year sentence after he stabbed his sleeping victim more than five times in the face, neck, chest, back and arms with a kitchen knife, before leaving him for dead in a pool of blood.

DUBAI // A man’s appeal against his seven-year jail sentence for the brutal attempted murder of his countryman has been closed – because he had died in hospital.

Indian N F, 39, had stabbed his sleeping victim more than five times in the face, neck, chest, back and arms with a kitchen knife, before leaving him for dead in a pool of blood. N F had been earlier been sacked from his job.

The Dubai Court of Appeal gave no details on the jailed man’s death but during a previous hearing he was referred to the psychiatric section at Rashid Hospital for assessment of his mental health.

At the Dubai Criminal Court last September N F denied a charge of attempted murder and claimed that he was ill in his room on October 23, 2012, when the incident took place.

N F had been found guilty of walking into victim S O’s room and stabbing him in the neck as he slept.

When he woke up, terrified, S O, who is said to have had previous disputes with N F, tried to escape but was stabbed several more times.

The 34-year-old victim ran out of his room at a labour camp in Al Quoz industrial area and fell unconscious. Five days later he woke in hospital, his life saved by early surgical intervention, a forensics report said.

Police corporal W N, 25, had testified that he was called to the scene at 1pm. He called an ambulance and the victim was taken to Rashid Hospital, where he underwent several surgical procedures that saved his life.

“The workers told me about the defendant being in the victim’s room, so I tried to open the door but it was locked,” W N said.

“I heard the voice of a man inside and I then forced the door open to see the defendant sitting on the bed and holding a knife in his hand.”

He added that N F then placed the knife on the floor and answered his questions about the stabbing. “He said he stabbed the victim because he had insulted him,” said W N.

The forensics report said that some of the stab wounds were nearly fatal but the quick surgical intervention saved the man’s life.