Man ‘hit room-mate with frying pan before knife murder after poison attempt’

Indian carpenter says he was half-sleeping when the incident happened but a medical report describes what must have been a brutal attack.

DUBAI // A carpenter accused of hitting his room-mate on the head with a frying pan before stabbing him to death told Dubai Criminal Court that the victim had previously tried to poison him.

“We are not on good terms because he poisoned my food twice but, at the time of the incident, I was asleep, then woke up, headed towards him while he was on his bed, hit him on the head then stabbed him one time, but I wasn’t aware of myself or what I was doing, and I didn’t mean to kill him,” said the Indian accused, 56.

Prosecutors charged him with premeditated murder and said he stabbed his victim twice on December 5 last year at a labour accommodation in Al Quoz.

They said he confessed and that he had thought about killing his victim a day before the murder. When questioned about his reasons he allegedly told investigators that the man often threatened to beat him up and would constantly make recordings of him and use the clips to mock him.

The accommodation’s supervisor called police at about 8pm after he found the body. The defendant was then found bleeding from stab wounds in the stomach after he tried to commit suicide. He was referred to Rashid Hospital for treatment.

A medical report said that the deceased’s head was crushed and his face disfigured by the blows to the head.

The nationality and age of the victim were not mentioned in court records.

The next hearing will be on May 11, to give time to appoint a defence lawyer.