UAE: Drug addict, who stabbed father 36 times, gets death sentence

Photo: Reuters

Al Ain - The incident took place after Taraweeh prayer during the last month of Ramadan

Published: Tue 14 Sep 2021, 2:24 AM

By
Ismail Sebugwaawo

An Emirati drug addict in Al Ain has been sentenced to death for killing his father after the victim allegedly refused to give him money to buy drugs.

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The young man had stabbed his father 36 times in different parts of the body using a blunt object which caused his death. The incident took place after Taraweeh prayer during Ramadan this year.

The Al Ain Criminal Court of First Instance has handed down the death sentence to the killer after he was found guilty of premeditated murder. The victim’s aggrieved family had refused to pardon the killer in return for blood money and insisted on retribution.

Police investigations showed that the Emirati would routinely ask his father for money. Sometimes, his father would grant the request and sometimes, he would refuse, knowing that his son would use it to buy psychoactive substances.

Eyewitnesses told authorities that the accused used to beat his father whenever he refused to give him the money he needed to buy drugs. The young man, who was an ex-convict in a drug abuse case, had earlier been placed in a rehab clinic.

On the day of the murder, the Emirati lured his father into the courtyard of the house under the pretext of talking to him about something. “As soon as the victim came closer to him, the accused stabbed him 36 times with a blunt object in different parts of his body,” said prosecutors.

Witnessing the incident from the balcony of his room, the accused's brother rushed down, placed his father in his car and tried to take him to the hospital. However, the defendant, who used his own vehicle, hurriedly blocked his brother's way and crashed his car against his brother's vehicle several times till it was too damaged to move.

The second brother, who was outside the house, alerted the police about the incident after hearing his father screaming.

The victim's brother, who was also nearby, ran to rescue his brother. He tried to take him to the hospital, but the latter died by the time he got him there.

The Family Prosecution in Al Ain had charged the Emirati with premeditated murder. He was also charged with deliberately damaging his brother's vehicle to prevent his father from getting the emergency medical assistance required. The man was further accused of consuming a psychoactive substance ("Pregabalin").

Prosecutors had requested that the maximum sentence be given to the accused, considering that the victim being his father constituted an aggravating circumstance.

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The Emirati’s lawyer had argued that his client committed the crime under the influence of drugs and wasn’t aware of his actions. The accused had told prosecutors that he couldn’t remember any of the facts of the crime.

However, a medical committee that examined the defendant refuted his claims and confirmed that the accused was responsible for his actions and statements at the time of the incident.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com