Execution upheld for killer of teen phone harasser

ABU DHABI // The Cassation Court yesterday approved the death sentence – the only such case upheld this year in the emirate – for a husband convicted of killing a teenager over harassing telephone calls to the man’s wife.

Al Ain prosecutors said H?B, an Emirati, killed an Emirati teenager after the teenager phoned the defendant’s wife several times. The wife reported the incident to her husband, who decided to kill the teenager, prosecutors said.

On February 27, 2009, H?B followed the teenager in his car and smashed the victim’s car from behind. The victim’s car left the road, the court heard, and after stopping his own vehicle, H?B ran over to the injured teenager and stabbed him to death.

Prosecutors said he followed the teenager with the intent to kill him, which demanded capital punishment.

The case was first tried at the Al Ain Criminal Court of First Instance in April 2009. The justices summoned the victim’s family and asked them if they would accept blood money, forgive the defendant or insist on the death penalty. The family insisted on capital punishment and the court sentenced H?B to death.

The case was automatically appealed, and the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal upheld the sentence. The case was then appealed to the Cassation Court, the highest court for the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

In each court, the family had to tell the court whether they would accept the blood money.

Last week, the family reiterated before the justices at the Cassation Court that they demanded the death penalty. One justice explained to them that forgiveness or blood money were preferable, in accordance with Islam, to the death penalty, but the family insisted.

A court official at the Judicial Department said yesterday the case was the first death penalty case upheld by the Cassation Court this year. The official said there were “two to three” such cases upheld last year.

Murder cases are tried under Sharia, which requires death for premeditated murder if the family of the victim insists on it. A court can reject death, regardless of the family’s decision: if the killer is a minor; if the killer is insane; if the victim was implicated in an offence against the killer; or if the killer is the parent of the victim.

If the killer is Muslim and the victim is not, a Sharia court is required to reject the death penalty.

All inheritors in the victim’s family are required to present a unanimous decision for the death penalty. If one member accepts blood money, a court must rule out the death penalty.

The Cassation Court’s verdict is final and cannot be appealed. The upheld death sentence will be submitted to Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE, whose signature is required before the man is executed.

Negotiations with the family to accept blood money can continue and the family will be required by Sharia to attend the execution, where they can still stop the procedure.

hhassan@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

If you go

The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.