ABU DHABI //A man killed his girlfriend and then tried to kill himself because she refused to quit prostitution, the Criminal Court heard on Monday.
The defendant, from the Philippines, choked the victim to death using his belt, then tried to take his own life by choking himself using a rope, but his attempt failed and he fled the crime scene.
“We received a call after the crime took place that a woman was murdered in the Al Dana area,” said one of the investigating police officers.
They were able to track the defendant through footage on the hotel’s CCTV cameras, the testimony of a hotel cleaner and his passport, which was found at the crime scene.
The defendant told police investigators he killed his girlfriend because she refused to quit her life as a prostitute, in spite of his financial support of her.
She would visit the country repeatedly on a tourist visa, and once it expired she would travel to a neighbouring country to renew it and then return to practice prostitution again, he claimed.
He confessed to killing her because she took “advantage of his kind heart”.
The witness confirmed his statements were true, and that they saw bills of the amounts he spent on her, which proved she took advantage of him financially.
On the night of the murder they were spending a night together at the hotel.
Later that evening she received a call from a man he did not know, and said she had to leave.
This drove the defendant to kill her using his belt, he said.
He then tried to kill himself.
The case was adjourned until November 24 to seek the heirs’ decision on whether they will request a death sentence or blood money.
hdajani@thenational.ae
