Man blackmails workmate for phone, drives him to suicide

dubai — A man, who allegedly blackmailed a workmate with compromising photos while demanding a smartphone from him, was arrested by the police following the suicide of the victim, the Dubai Court of First Instance has heard.

Prosecutors accused the 23-year-old Pakistani worker of making criminal threats after the victim’s suicide note unravelled how he had been intimidated by the defendant — who did not attend the first hearing of his trial.

Court documents show that a Filipino hanged himself from a ceiling in the bathroom of his flat in Al Qusais in June 2017. His suicide note demanded that a man be arrested, referring to him only by his initials.

The case dates back to July 29, 2017. Through an investigation, the police managed to track down the defendant — the deceased’s colleague — whose initials were the same as those indicated on the note.

During the interrogation, the accused admitted that he had threatened to release intimate photos of the victim with another man. He confessed that he had got the photos from the other man and later used them as a way to blackmail the victim. He had been pushing him into buying a smartphone for him.

Public prosecution investigators found that he had even sent him those photos on WhatsApp.

The trial will continue on January 13.

A Filipino hanged himself from a ceiling in June 2017. His suicide note demanded that a man be held, referring to him only by his initials.”

Court documents