'Jealousy over prostitute led to murder'

DUBAI // A driver was burnt to death by another man because he was jealous that he had spent time with a prostitute, a court heard yesterday.

MM, 26, appeared at the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday, charged with burning alive the Pakistani driver JN on February 5, 2010. Prosecutors say he doused JN with petrol and set him alight.

MM's motive, prosecutors told the court, was jealousy over a prostitute with whom JN had spent time having sex with.

Investigations led police to MM, who was found with burns on his legs. Burnt shoes that police say belong to MM were found at the scene.

Records show that on the evening of February 4, 2010, JN and his friend MI went to a brothel in the Hor al Anz district of Dubai. JN ended up with HM, a prostitute, while his friend waited in the car. After several hours, MI called JN and told him they had to return to Abu Dhabi, records show.

"After I spoke with him, I waited and then heard a knock on my window and saw JN on fire asking me to help him," he said.

MM told prosecutors that he was involved with HM, visiting her every Friday for sex. But he denied being at the brothel that night and said he was in Sharjah.

When asked about the burns, MM said someone dropped hot oil on his feet, and he had the injuries treated at a Sharjah hospital. The court adjourned the hearing to February 6 to present prosecution witnesses.