DUBAI // A man strangled his friend to death in a row over an unpaid debt then tried to throw his body out with the rubbish, a court heard yesterday.
N S, 28, from India, became angry when his friend, Fipeen Kumar, asked to repay the Dh8,500 loan in instalments, so he strangled him with a length of rope, prosecutors told the Criminal Court.
He then hid the body in a box and paid three men to help him move it to the rubbish bins outside his apartment building.
His crime was discovered the next day by a security guard who inspected the box and found the body.
Prosecutors said the disagreement took place on May 22 this year when the pair met at the man’s apartment in Fareej Nassir near the Rehab Hotel at about 4pm.
“The two started discussing the debt issue and the defendant asked that the money should be returned back as one sum but the victim said he couldn’t do this,” testified an Emirati police officer who took the man’s confession.
He said that the discussion soon turned violent and the man pushed Kumar to the floor before picking up a length of rope and wrapping it around his neck.
“He kept pulling the rope until the man’s movement stopped,” said the policeman K A.
The killer stuffed Kumar’s body into a box and paid three men between Dh25-Dh50 each to help him move it to the rubbish collection point outside his apartment building. The men did not know what was in the box.
A T, 47, an Indian security guard, recalled seeing the box that night, but paid little attention to it until the following day.
“When I saw the carton was still there the next morning I became curious so I opened it up. I found a dead body inside and called police,” said the security guard.
Fingerprints on the box and camera footage from the Rehab Hotel led police to arrest the three men who helped the man to carry the box. The trio helped officers to track down the man who was arrested in Naif a day after the murder. An air ticket proved he planned to return to his home country within the next two days.
“At first he denied knowing the victim but when he saw the hotel recording, he confessed to lending him money then killing him after an argument related to the debt,” said the policeman.
He said the man admitted strangling Kumar with a rope and not letting go until he stopped struggling and blood came from his nose.
The man’s boss testified that on the day of the murder the man had turned up to work acting strangely. He arrived late to his afternoon shift claiming he was suffering a severe headache and that he had overslept because he had taken strong pain killers.
“When he reported to work he asked for a Dh1,000 loan to be deducted from his salary because he needed to travel to his country for urgent family matters,” testified the boss, S P, from India.
“He was given the money and booked on a plane leaving May 25.”
The man had worked as a salesman for the company for the past six years.
In court the man denied a charge of premeditated murder, but admitted disposing of the body. He said he returned to his apartment to find Kumar’s dead body.
“When I entered the room, I saw his dead body and panicked so I hid it in a box and threw it away,” he said.
His flatmate A L testified there was no rope at their apartment and that he could not recall the man buying any recently.
The next hearing was scheduled for October 23 to appoint a defence lawyer.
salamir@thenational.ae
