Man who killed masseuse after she rejected marriage proposal is jailed

Defendant strangled masseuse after row over break-up

A man who strangled a masseuse and stole her belongings after she refused to marry him has been handed a 10-year jail sentence.

The Pakistani defendant, 30, and the Bangladeshi woman had struck up a relationship after a massage appointment in Al Karama, Dubai, last November.

But when he asked her to marry him, she cut off all contact and failed to return Dh7,000 he had loaned her, Dubai Criminal Court was told.

The defendant managed to track down the woman and made an appointment with her at another massage centre in Al Rafaa in December of last year.

The pair became embroiled in an argument in which the defendant alleged she scratched his face.

“I became angry and strangled her before I suffocated her with a towel for nearly 10 minutes,” said the defendant in court.

He fled the scene and headed to his workplace, where he made a holiday request to swiftly leave the country.

Police were alerted after the massage centre's receptionist's found the woman's body and she was able to identify the accused after viewing CCTV footage.

The man was arrested soon after.

In court last month, the defendant admitted premeditated murder.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison at a court hearing on Tuesday and told to serve an additional six months behind bars for theft.

He will be deported after serving his prison term.

He has two weeks to appeal the sentence.