Man who strangled ex-girlfriend to see out seven-year jail term

He strangled the victim and broke her neck after she ignored his request to pay back his money

A man who strangled his ex-girlfriend and stole her belongings will see out his seven-year jail term.

The Lebanese accused, 31, met the Vietnamese woman at a nightclub in Dubai in August 2016.

The man told the court that the two began dating and went on a holiday together.

“We went to the Maldives," he said. "Then a few weeks later she had to go to her home country and while she was there, she asked me for money so I wired her $15,000."

He said that on her return to Dubai from Vietnam she began accusing him of posting pictures of her on Facebook and asked him for more money.
"We spoke about it and the problem was solved, after which she asked me for Dh50,000 to open her own business," he told prosecutors.

"She said she wanted to open a beauty salon, so I gave her the money because I loved her."
He said he gave her an another Dh13,000 a few months later to help with the beauty salon.
"She told me I would be a partner in her business but I found out later that I wasn't a partner on the documents."
After confronting her, she stopped meeting him and answering his calls and messages.
"She became a completely different woman than the one I fell in love with," he said.

The two met for the last time at her flat in Bur Dubai on April 13, 2017.
He asked her to pay him back and when she ignored him, he strangled her and broke her neck, prosecutors said.

He placed her body in a large bag and stole her cash and jewellery before returning to his flat.

The defendant was arrested a week later after the woman’s friends reported her missing and police found her body in the bag on the bathroom floor.

“We checked CCTV footage and saw him entering the building then exiting five hours later from the back entrance carrying some bags," an Emirati police officer said.

"We suspected in him and investigated his identity and found out that he had been in a relationship with the deceased."

During questioning, the defendant admitted to killing the woman, saying he lost his temper and was provoked by her attitude.

When he appeared in Dubai Criminal Court and the Court of Appeal, he denied charges of premeditated murder and theft.

The Criminal Court initially sentenced him to life in prison to be followed by deportation, but on appeal his sentence was reduced to seven years.

The Cessation Court then returned the case to be heard by a new panel of appeals judges who on Wednesday, sentenced him to seven years – six years for murder and one for theft.