Fugitive raped and strangled compatriot

Accomplice says worker murdered victim for posting online his female relative’s photo

Aworker has been accused of taking a man into the desert where he raped and strangled him with a rope for posting his female relative’s photos on the internet.

The 33-year-old Pakistani worker was believed to have conspired with a 21-yearold countryman blacksmith against their 30-year-old compatriot, who had arrived in Dubai in March.

The worker and his blacksmith friend lured the man to a car and took him to a desert area near Jebel Ali where the worker had forced sex with the man.

Following the rape, the Pakistani duo strangled the victim.

Records said the worker stuffed sand in the victim’s mouth as the latter resisted and struggled to breathe.

After the two men confirmed that the victim had died, they covered his body with sand and rocks before driving away.

People living in a workers’ accommodation notified their supervisor about a stink coming from a nearby spot, and they found the partially buried body, according to records.

Forensic examiners found that the body was partly decomposed and the fingers had been eaten by stray animals.

Primary police interrogations exposed the involvement of the blacksmith, who was apprehended.

Prosecutors accused the worker, who remains at large, and the blacksmith of premeditatedly killing the victim.

According to the charges, prosecutors said the fugitive suspect conspired with his countryman in driving the victim to the desert where they tied his hands and legs, raped and strangled him. The 21-year-old suspect pleaded not guilty and denied the charges when he showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday.

“I had nothing to do with the murder. The other suspect is the one who killed the victim because of a previous dispute and ran away from the country,” said the suspect as he defended himself before presiding judge Shaikha Hamad.

A police lieutenant told prosecutors that the blacksmith admitted during questioning that he abetted the fugitive in killing the victim.

Presiding judge Hamad said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect when it reconvenes on October 16.

People living in a workers’ accommodation notified their supervisor about a stink coming from a nearby spot, and they found the partially buried body.