Man serving life sentence for killing debtor applies for early release

Inmate hopes to be released after serving 15 years of a 25-year prison term

A man serving a life sentence for killing a compatriot who owed him money has filed an appeal for early release with Dubai Criminal Court.

The Pakistani, 40, stabbed the victim, who was in his 20s, on May 28, 2003, killing him.

That night, the victim was with his father and a friend at the fish market in Naif.

“He told me he needed to go transfer some money so he left towards his car and I started walking back to our house,” said the Pakistani father, who was 45 at the time and is now aged 60.

Moments after his son left them, the father received a call from a fish market worker telling him his son had been stabbed.

The father ran over to find his son on his back, near his car, and bleeding heavily from a stab wound in his chest.

"He was still alive but could barely talk and before I could ask him what happened, paramedics arrived. They started doing things to help save his life before they took him in the ambulance to hospital," said the father.
The victim was taken to the emergency room of Rashid Hospital where he died minutes after arrival.

Police arrested the defendant at his friend’s house in Al Ain after several eyewitnesses said they last saw the victim with him.

During questioning, the defendant admitted to stabbing the man because he owed him money.

"Every time I asked for it, he would say later. Then I gave him a last chance to repay me by May 28," the inmate said in records.
He said that, when the victim refused to pay him again, he walked to the nearest fish shop, bought a big knife for Dh17 then returned to the man's car and stabbed him.
An eye witness told police he heard a loud bang from the fish market's car park then saw the victim's car crashed into the car park shade posts.

"He then stepped out of the car in bloodied clothes, he couldn't walk straight or talk. He collapsed a metre away from his car door," said the Pakistani witness.
The man was sentenced to life in prison by Dubai Criminal Court. Prosecutors appealed, hoping he would be sentenced to death instead, but the prison sentence was upheld.

The defendant has served 15 years of his 25-year sentence, meaning he is eligible to apply for early release.

He obtained a good conduct certificate from the correctional facilities in Dubai and submitted it to the criminal court.

Prosecutors submitted a counter-document recommending the rejection of the inmate's request. If his appeal is rejected, he will be eligible to reapply in a year.
The court will issue its decision later this month.