Hunt on for witness in Mark Arnold appeal case

The Dubai Court of Appeal is waiting for the reply of the Dubai Residency and Foreign Affairs Department which is supposed to specify if the second affirmative witness in the case of Mark Arnold, is still in the country.

Arnold, British, was charged with killing his South African ex-girlfriend Kerry Winter, 36, and was awarded 15 years in jail followed by deportation sentence.

The court presided by Judge Issa Mohammed Sharif adjourned the case until October 17 for the department’s reply.

In the previous hearing, the court asked the department to specify if the witness Morris Wibros is still in the country on another visa or has he left.

The defence lawer Yousuf Hammad, has argued that cancelling his visa on February 19, 2009 as per the department’s earlier letter to the court does not mean that he is not in the country. He could be on another visa in the country, said that lawyer asking the court to determine whereabouts of Wibros.

The department’s previous letter stated that the second affirmative witness, the company’s driver, Asghar Khan, was proved to have left the country on November 11, 2008.

Hammad has insisted on hearing the two affirmative witnesses who were never questioned during the court proceedings as they could not be reached to make testimonies before the court.

Since one of the two is not in the country, the second, if still in the country, should be questioned since the First Instance Court has given high value to their testimonies in its verdict, Al Hammad told Emirates 24|7.

“The First Instance Court based its verdict on the testimonies of the two affirmative witnesses made before the prosecution and in which they testified that they have offered the accused services without knowing his intentions of killing his girlfriend. The two should be heard by the court. However, since one of them had left the country, the second one could be still in the country.”

According to the prosecution sheet and the confessions of Morris Wibros, company's logistics director, Arnold had asked to buy a device for tracking people to trace the victim.

Wibros said in his testimony before the prosecution that he was amazed with such a request but did not ask Arnold why he needed the device.

The accused also asked Morris to buy him a big water-proof cloth bag in addition to 10 pieces of weights, he testified.

All these requests astonished Morris, according to his testimony. He supplied the prosecution with purchase bills which show the dates were a few days prior to the crime.

The accused asked the company to rent him a car with tinted glass and used it for following the victim.

A day before the crime, the accused asked both Morris and Asghar Khan, a driver at the company, to go in their cars behind him to wait for the victim at the parking lot of Lamcy Plaza and follow the victim from her work place, should he missed her, the two witnesses testified.

“The Court of First Instance has given great value and weight to the testimonies of these two affirmative witnesses for making its verdict. I find loopholes in their testimonies, and I have the right to argue their testimonies in light of that,” he noted.

“Two affirmative witnesses whose testimonies were highly valued in convicting a suspect guilty with premeditated murder should be heard and questioned by the court and the defence lawyer.”

In a previous hearing the court turned down a request made by Hussain Al Jaziri, the blood guardian lawyer to refer the case back to the prosecution to include the accusation of hiding the body.

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