Early release for man sentenced to life in prison after killing compatriot in Dubai

A man serving a life sentence after murdering a compatriot in a fight over cash has won his appeal for early release.

The Pakistani, 40, was jailed for 15 years after stabbing the man to death at the car park of a fish market in Naif, Dubai, in May 2003.

The victim, in his early 20s, owed him money that he demanded back.

The killer’s appeal for early release was approved despite a call by prosecutors to keep him in jail.

The victim had been at the market with his father and a friend when the killer followed him back to his car and stabbed him in the heart with a knife bought from a fish shop.

He tried to drive away in his car after the attack but crashed into a post.

A fish market worker rushed to the scene and saw the bloodied man collapse after getting out of the car.

“He was in bloodied clothes,” the Pakistani witness said. “He couldn’t walk straight or talk.”

The victim collapsed a metre away from his car door.

His father, now aged 60, tried to talk to his son and find out who stabbed him, but he was unable to talk.

He was taken to the emergency room of Rashid Hospital, where he died minutes after arrival. Police arrested the killer at his friend’s house in Al Ain.

They said he admitted to stabbing the man because he owed him money.

He was sentenced to life in prison by Dubai Criminal Court.

Prosecutors appealed, hoping he would be sentenced to death, but the prison sentence was upheld.

The killer obtained a good conduct certificate from the correctional facilities in Dubai and submitted it to the Criminal Court.

He will be deported when his release from prison is finalised.