Labourer stabbed fellow worker to death over missing Dh6,000, hears court


Salam Al Amir
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DUBAI // A labourer stabbed a fellow worker in the heart, liver, lung and spleen before locking him in his room and leaving him to bleed to death in a row over Dh6,000, a court heard today.

Prosecutors told the Criminal Court that ME, a 25-year-old Bangladeshi labourer, suspected KH had stolen the money because only he knew about the wooden box in which it was kept.

KH had reported himself sick and was convalescing in his bed at a labour camp in Al Quoz Industrial Area on June 20 when the labourer burst into his room and stabbed him repeatedly. The labourer then left the room and locked the door. It took a day before other workers broke into the room and discovered the body in a pool of blood. By then the labourer had fled first to Sharjah and then to Al Ain where five friends helped him cross the border to Oman.

An Emirati policeman said that Omani authorities co-operated in the arrest of the labourer and he was returned to the UAE. He said that when interrogated the labourer claimed he had not meant to kill the man.

The labourer was charged with premeditated murder. RD, 29; AS, 32; BA, 26; AA, 28 - all Bangladeshi - and ES, a 24-year-old Omani mechanic were charged with aiding and abetting the labourer by helping him to flee to Oman.

None of the men entered a plea.

The next hearing was scheduled for October 21 to appoint a lawyer for the men.

salamir@thenational.ae

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

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