DUBAI // A man who strangled his wife with the help of his best friend and dumped her body in a bag by the side of a road has been sentenced to death.
A Q, 23, an Indian expatriate, fled the country on the day of the murder last March and remains at large.
His friend, R A, 28, from Pakistan, was arrested but was not in the Criminal Court on Wednesday when the sentence was passed.
The court heard that A Q had brought his wife to the country four years ago but fell out with her when he became friends with R A.
The victim’s father Q A, 55, said: “She told me that she often warned him about R A and asked him to stay away from him but he wouldn’t listen.”
“The estranged husband quit his job and started to spend even more time with R A. One time, the husband came home drunk and assaulted his wife when she asked him to search for a job.”
Q A said his daughter had claimed her husband was having an affair with a woman from the Philippines.
On March 11 last year, the two men killed the woman, hid her corpse in a bag and dumped it in a sandy area.
The bag was discovered by the side of the Dubai to Al Ain Road by a municipality cleaner.
“I saw the bag 15 metres away from where I was cleaning and when I came closer to it, I saw a human’s head and immediately called the police,” the cleaner said.
A police officer said the husband had fled the country on the day of the murder and was still at large. His accomplice was apprehended in the UAE.
The officer said R A had confessed to the crime, saying: “The husband persuaded me to help him. He told me that he can’t divorce his wife because he can’t afford to pay her alimony.
R A told me that when he went to the couple’s house, he found his friend acting weird before telling him he killed his wife,” said the policeman.
“The Pakistani walked into the bedroom to find the woman was still alive. He said he sat on top of her and strangled her until she died.”
Both men were convicted of premeditated murder. The case will now go to the Appeals Court for a second hearing. If the verdict is confirmed, it will be heard by the Court of Cassation.
The family of the victim are also asked if they wish to choose blood money rather than execution.
Finally, a death sentence can be carried out only after the Ruler of the emirate, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, has signed an execution warrant.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
