DUBAI // A Dubai Municipality worker allegedly killed a man by striking him on the head with a meat cleaver after the victim attacked him with a knife, the Dubai Criminal Court was told.
Pakistani S K denied a charge of premeditated murder when he appeared in court on Monday morning.
“I just hit him but I didn’t mean to end his life and I was the one to call for an ambulance,” S K told judges.
Witnesses living in the same workers’ accommodation as S K told prosecutors that the night before the murder, S K and the victim, J K, also Pakistani, were seen laughing and having dinner together.
At nearly 6.30am on January 28 this year, police received a report of a murder at the accommodation in Al Muhaisnah 2.
“Before I made it to the location, I was contacted by a fellow policemen who informed me that the victim had died in an ambulance before reaching hospital,” testified 28-year-old Emirati police lieutenant M K.
S K was also injured and was taken to hospital. M K said a bloodied meat cleaver was found in the room where the murder had taken place. Blood was also found on a stick and the handle of a hammer.
Investigations revealed that the victim was not a municipality worker but often came to sleep in S K’s room.
“He used to come almost every weekend and sleep over,” said Pakistani worker M S, 36.
Prosecutors said S K confessed to fighting with the victim after he asked him to stop sleeping at the accommodation as he was not a municipality employee.
The two men engaged in a first fight before S K grabbed the cleaver while J K held a knife.
S K was hit on the arm and retaliated by striking J K on the head, neck and chest with cleaver causing him severe injuries.
The next hearing will be on April 18.
salamir@thenational.ae
