UAE: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN DUBAI FOR SETTING TWO COLLEAGUES ON FIRE

October 21, 2015: A 32-year-old man was sentenced to death for setting two of his colleagues on fire, killing one of them.
Dubai Criminal Court convicted Pakistani D K on charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder and starting a fire in his company’s warehouse. However, he is still at large and was sentenced in absentia after not turning up to enter a plea in court on August 30.
The court was told the man was previously known for his good behaviour but, on February 2, he sprayed his countryman A K, whose age was not given in records, with petrol then set him on fire with a lighter.
The victim was severely burnt and admitted to hospital, where he remained in a coma for four days before he died.
The man also poured petrol on another colleague, fellow Pakistani S F, and set him on fire. However, S F, 35, was lucky as the fire took hold of a blanket he was wearing and he managed to escape unharmed.
The incidents happened in a warehouse at a SS Lootah construction site in Jebel Ali.
Records show D K fled the country illegally shortly after the incident.
Police investigations could not find the reason behind the crime and records stated that testimonies from many fellow workers showed that the defendant was a decent man, known for his good behaviour.
Most of the workers who testified speculated that it might have happened as a result of an old dispute between D K and A K that no one was aware of. (Sources: thenational.ae, 21/10/2015)