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28 March 2024

Death for man who killed boss: Dubai court

Published
By Eman Al Baik

MR, a 31-year-old Pakistani clerk who killed his employer and robbed him before fleeing the country, was awarded death penalty in absentia by the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.

The court however acquitted the convict’s compatriot MA, 36, technician, due to lack of evidence.

The Dubai Prosecution had accused the two men of killing their employer and stealing Dh80,000 through forged cheques in addition to Dh92,000 that they withdrew by using his ATM card.

The prosecution charged that the two had planned to kill IR and prepared a knife and plastic bags prior to committing the crime in May 2009.

The court records show that the victim died after MR stabbed him on different parts of his body.

Then the two accused put the victim’s body in a plastic bag and left it in a store after stealing his wallet and two cheques.

MR forged the victim’s signature on two cheques and withdrew Dh80,000. He also used the victim’s ATM card and withdrew Dh92,499.

The company’s 24-year-old Pakistani transport supervisor told investigators that he saw his employer last time at 8.30pm on May 28, 2009 when he left the office.

“On Saturday May 30, 2009, I received a call from the clerk, MR, who told me that he is in the office and nobody had come to office yet. After about an hour and a half, I went to the office and as the company’s owner was not there. I asked the clerk about our employer. He told me that our employer is sick and will not come to the office. We worked normally on that day till 8pm we all left the office.

“Next day, I was shocked to see the clerk, MR, holding company’s keys and the employer’s mobile phone. He told me that our employer had left for Pakistan to finish some urgent matters.

“After this short talk, the clerk left the office and didn’t come in the afternoon. We suspected him because he did not answer our phone calls,” the transport supervisor told investigators.

On the following day, when the clerk did not come to office, the company’s staff became suspicious and informed the police.

“We learnt from police that the clerk, MR, is outside the country but our employer had not left the country at all. This information refuted what the clerk had told us about the employer travelling abroad for an urgent matter. The employer was absent for the past three days,” said the supervisor.

Police immediately launched the investigation.

A week later, police found the body of the employer and discovered that the two cheques of Dh80,000 value  were collected. In addition to that money was withdrawn from the employer’s account.

Other workers made corroborative testimonies that the clerk was seen running the company and possessing the keys and the employer’s mobile phone.

A worker told investigator that he saw the clerk having the keys of the office and the mobile phone of the employer.

“I asked the clerk if he had taken over the company and he answered me affirmatively. He also paid the salaries to the staff. On top of that he asked me to hand over the passport to the technician, MA, who was also paid Dh1,000 on top of his salary as he had to travel to Pakistan.”

Other workers repeated similar testimonies saying that both the clerk and the technician did not accompany them for the Friday prayer on that day their employer went missing.

Police identified body of the victim from his fingerprints and identified the clerk MR as prime suspect. Camera footage showed MR along with another person withdrawing money from the victim’s account.

In 2013, police extradited the technician, MA, from Pakistan. He denied killing their employer or helping MR to commit the murder.

“While I was going to perform Friday prayer, MR and the victim asked me to accompany them. So I went with them to a large store where the victim started taking measurements. I was shocked when MR pulled a knife he was hiding under his dress and stabbed our employer with while the latter was taking measurements.

“MR then threatened to kill me if I do not help him to put the body in a big sack that he had brought with him. He took our employer’s mobile and keys before putting the body in the sack and left it in the store.

“Next day I told MR that I want to leave the country so he paid me Dh10,000, and gave me an air-ticket and my passport,” MA told the police.

Forensic reported that the wounds on the victim’s face happened after his death which made it difficult to identify him.

It also reported that the victim sustained fatal stabs in his body and neck had also been slit.