Murderer in custody after 14 years on run

Man was convicted of killing a shop vendor with the help of two others in April 2003

and when he appeared before the court yesterday, he pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of intentional murder using a knife and a stick. He was also accused of theft.

“I did not kill the victim … I am not guilty,” the defendant told presiding judge Shaikha Hamad.

A Dubai Police lieutenant testified that one of the relatives of the victim informed the police that someone had been using the deceased’s ATM card.

“The relative informed us that he had received a bank statement showing the ATM card had been used to withdraw Dh5,500 from the victim’s account. We checked the CCTV cameras at the bank and at the ATM machine. We identified the trader first and he was arrested from his shop in Naif area. The trader admitted during questioning that he and the two other culprits committed the murder and stole the victim’s belongings. He also admitted that the Pakistani suspect who had been going through financial problems persuaded them to commit the crime,” the lieutenant said.

According to records the three suspects beat the victim at his shop with a stick until he fell unconscious.

While the defendants were searching the shop for cash, according to records, the victim regained consciousness at which time the Pakistani man stabbed him to death. The three defendants fled the scene in a taxi that dropped them behind Deira Cinema.