Watchman who stabbed victim 66 times loses appeal

Court upholds life term for accused who also smashed aquarium on woman’s head to kill her

Awatchman, who stabbed a woman 66 times and smashed an aquarium over her head after she kicked his bucket, lost his appeal yesterday and will be jailed for life.

The 24-year-old Pakistani watchman was mopping the corridor outside the flat of the Filipina woman’s Indian boyfriend when she yelled at him, after he asked her to stay inside, and kicked the bucket that he had been using.

Following a heated argument, the accused returned armed himself with a fruit knife and a screwdriver and knocked on the door of the flat in the building in Dubai International City.

When the Filipina answered the door, the defendant said he had come to check the fire alarm before forcing his way into the flat. Then he repeatedly stabbed her in the belly until she fell on the floor but when the knife’s handle broke, he took out the screwdriver to stab her. The victim fought back and prevented him from using the screwdriver before he grabbed another kitchen knife and stabbed her again in February 2016.

When he realised that she was still breathing, the accused grabbed an aquarium and smashed it on her head to ensure that she died.

Light injuries and scratches on the watchman’s body helped law enforcement officers discover two days later that he had killed the Filipina.

In August, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the accused for life for premeditatedly killing the woman and two years for stealing her belongings. Dubai Police’s forensic examiner confirmed that the victim had been stabbed 66 times.

The accused appealed the judgement and sought to have the jail term reduced by the Appeal Court. Prosecutors also appealed the ruling and sought to have it raised to capital punishment.

Yesterday, presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm dismissed the two appeals and upheld the life sentence and two-year imprisonment.

When he showed up in court, the Pakistani refuted killing the victim intentionally. “I stabbed her but I did not intend to kill her. I caused her death but I didn’t plan to do so in advance,” he told the court.