Man who killed friend with a rock has life sentence upheld

Court rejects plea that the fatal attack was not planned

DUBAI // A life sentence against a technician who pushed a rock off the roof of an eight-storey building on to two friends sitting below, killing one instantly and injuring the other, was upheld by Dubai Court of Appeal.

The 25- year- old Indian was convicted of premeditated murder and physical assault after the incident on March 30, 2015. He and the two other Indian friends had been drinking alcohol at a farewell party for another man that night, after which they went to a restaurant where the technician argued with the manager and all three were kicked out. Hungry and angry as they walked to their Jebel Ali accommodation, the 24-year-old man who was later killed blamed the technician for having them kicked out and pushed him to the ground. The two friends left him there, a policeman said.

The technician returned to their flat in the early hours of the morning and saw his friends sitting at the foot of the building. He told them he needed to go upstairs to collect his clothes, which had been hung up to dry. When he was on the roof, he pushed the rock off the ledge and it hit his friends below.

“After the rock landed on my friend’s head, it hit my right leg,” said the other Indian, 27.

“I looked up and saw the defendant, who came a few minutes later trying to help me, but I asked him to help our friend, who was unconscious and bleeding heavily from the head.”

The technician denied planning to kill his compatriots, although he admitted to having consumed alcohol before the incident.

The killer was handed a life sentence and will be deported after serving his prison sentence. Life in the UAE is usually 25 years.