Man with 'unstable mental state' acquitted of murder of a woman in Al Ain

Mona Al Badawi, Staff Reporter

Al Ain Court of First Instance acquitted an Asian in his thirties of the charge of murdering an Arab woman and attempting to kill another man.

The court obligated the suspect to pay blood money of Dhs200,000 to the heirs of the victim, confiscated the seized the murder weapon and placed him in a treatment centre.

The court also estimated the lawyer's fees at Dhs15,000.

According to the case papers, the suspect murdered the victim premeditatedly with a knife.

Instantly on seeing the victim, he stabbed her in the chest, intending to claim her life, and he caused her the injuries mentioned in the anatomical report, which were the reasons for her death.

The suspect also attempted to murder a man by stabbing him several times with the same knife, intending to kill him, but the victim survived.

He then tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself with the knife, and he caused himself injuries. When he was arrested, it was found that he was using psychotropic substances.

During the sessions, in the presence of a translator, the Public Prosecution, and the suspect’s lawyer, the suspect confessed that he suffered from psychological troubles and that he had bought a knife to kill himself, then he claimed that he killed the victim while he was out of mind.

On being questioned about the number of stabs he committed on the victim, he said that he did not remember, adding that there were no previous disputes with the her. He denied that he had attempted to kill the other man, and that he was in a state of self-defence.

He reportedly confessed to attempting to commit suicide, while he denied the two charges of being caught in a state of endangering the safety of people and abusing a psychotropic substance.

The court ordered that the suspect be admitted to the psychiatry department at Al Ain Governmental Hospital, in order to clarify his mental state at the time of committing the crimes and contacted the embassy of the suspect's country to seek the opinion of the legal heirs about whether they are asking for retribution or pardon in return for blood money.

The psychiatric report of Al Ain Governmental Hospital indicated that the medical committee decided that the suspect needed to be admitted to the behavioural and psychological sciences department in the hospital for treatment, as he suffered from sadness, sleep disturbances, crying spells, suicidal thoughts, and auditory hallucinations, which resulted in disturbed behavior on the day of the incident.

The team also explained that he suffered from depression with psychotic symptoms which put him under the control of pathological delusions, which negatively affected his perception, consequently, he was not responsible for his behaviour and actions at the time of the incident.

The psychiatric report issued by Khalifa Medical City in Emirate of Abu Dhabi indicated that the suspect suffered from depression accompanied by psychotic symptoms and he was not responsible for his behaviour and actions at the time of the incident.

The court explained that mental illness precluded criminal responsibility at the time of committing the crime, and thus he was not criminally responsible for them.

The court added that it was satisfied with the reports of the psychiatric committee from Al Ain Hospital and Khalifa Medical City, and therefore acquitted the suspect of the charges and ordered his admission to a centre for treatment.