The 26-year-old student who faced murder charges after stabbing his best friend with a pair of scissors lost his appeal and will face a lengthened time of 15 years in jail, instead of the initial ruling which was only seven years.
The Pakistani defendant was found guilty of killing his Emirati best friend after he stabbed him in the neck when they got in a heated argument, reported Gulf News.
An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Dubai, who works for the family of the Pakistani suspect, stood as witness before the Dubai Criminal Court.
The 39-year-old OFW recalled that on August 5 of 2017, the Pakistani student invited his friend to his home in Umm Al Sheif in Dubai.
It was around 3 in the afternoon when the OFW heard the Emirati screaming the suspect’s name. After rushing to the scene, the OFW saw the victim bleeding in the neck area.
“I felt scared, so I woke the defendant’s uncle up and then locked myself in my room,” the maid said during the trial.
After the incident, the victim was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The defendant was apprehended two days after.
According to the Pakistani, he only wanted to scare the victim and that he did not intentionally kill his friend thus, pleading not guilty to premeditated murder.
The defendant was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment back in July. He then appealed his initial sentence before the Appeal Court for a more lenient punishment.
On the other hand, the prosecution filed an appeal to further strengthen the defendant’s punishment.
On Sunday, presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif accepted the prosecution’s appeal and sentenced him to a longer jail time of 15 years.
The defendant will also be deported after serving his jail term.
The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court.
