Labourer interned for stabbing scammer

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A labourer who stabbed a visitor for swindling money from his friends after promising to find them attractive jobs was on Tuesday jailed for one year plus deportation.

The Asian defendant, 21, sought the help of an unidentified man to lure the Sri Lankan victim, 33, to a bus station. He used a knife and a broken golf club to hit his stomach, chest, neck and back.

The incident happened in Jumeirah at around 8pm on Jul.18.2018.

 The murder bid fell flat after the victim was rushed to hospital and underwent life-saving surgeries. The defendant was inebriated that day.  

The Dubai Criminal Court convicted and sentenced the defendant over attempted murder. The court ordered that the alcohol abuse charge be referred to the Dubai Misdemeanours Court.

On the record, the defendant narrated that the victim convinced him he had two jobs for Dhs10, 000 each. “I talked to friends and two of them accepted.

The victim met them in Sri Lanka and received their cash.

“From then he started procrastinating to implement his promise. I asked an acquaintance to contact him and convince him he was willing to pay Dhs2, 000 more to help one of the friends in Sri Lanka come for his job.

“The victim agreed to meet my acquaintance beside the bus station. I went there inebriated and demanded the victim to return the money he took.

“He said he did not have it then asked me for time to arrange it.

“We had a heated argument over the matter. He pushed me away to escape. I ran after him and pulled out a knife,” the defendant explained. “After the assault, I dropped the knife and fled to Al Satwa.”

An Emirati sergeant testified, “He said the victim defaulted and later denied having received any money at all. He stabbed him, hurled the knife and fled in a taxi.” The victim ended up in an ICU. The defendant’s DNA was detected on the knife.