Man sentenced to life for killing co-worker

DUBAI — A technician, who killed a co-worker by throwing a concrete block on his head following a verbal brawl, was sentenced to life in prison on Sunday.

The Court of First Instance was told the 25-year-old Indian harboured grudge against his co-worker. After planning to kill him, on March 31, he went to the rooftop of their 8-floor accommodation building (in Jebel Ali) and threw a concrete block on the victim’s head. He injured another worker too.

The court convicted him of charges of premeditated murder and assault on others’ safety and ordered his deportation.

The defendant told a policeman when questioned: “We were at a farewell party of a coworker and we all drank alcohol. We then went to a restaurant but we did not eat because I had an altercation with the supervisor in the restaurant. On our way back to our accommodation, the victim blamed me for missing the dinner meal and then pushed me and I fell down.”

The accused then told the policeman that he had felt instant revenge against the victim. “I thought about it for a minute while they walked ahead. I found them sitting down a building where we stayed.

“I told them I would go to bring my clothes hanged on the rooftop. I went up and pushed a concrete block and made it fall on the victim’s head,” the accused reportedly told the policeman.

The defendant found the victim shortly later lying down on his back and bleeding profusely from the head.

According to the forensic report, the cause of death was a blunt force trauma to the head and severe injury to the chest.

A 29-year-old Indian technician, who was also injured in the incident, said that the defendant excused them to go to the toilet.

“But a few minutes later, a concrete block fell off the building on the victim’s head and it hit my feet. As I fell down I looked up and saw the accused on the rooftop. The latter then came down and tried to wake up the victim, who was bleeding a lot from the head.” The ruling may be appealed.

I told them I would go to bring my clothes hanged on the rooftop. I went up and pushed a concrete block and made it fall on the victim’s head.” Testimony of the accused