Drunk man who tried to kill room-mate has one-year sentence upheld at Dubai court

DUBAI // A drunk man who insulted his fellow Pakistani room-mate and his family before trying to throw the man off their balcony lost his appeal against a one-year sentence.

M S, 54, a driver, did not like his 28-year-old room-mate, B A, criticising his drinking habits so he told B A that he wanted to have sex with him, his sister and mother and then, after trying to throw him off the balcony, he stabbed the victim, Dubai Criminal Court heard in September.

The driver had been drinking alcohol all day on February 7, when the incident took place.

The room-mate said he woke at 9am that day and M S was already drinking at their home in International City.

B A said he did some housework before heading out for Friday prayer. When he returned the defendant was still in the house drinking.

“We then had lunch with a number of friends and he was all the time joking with me but using very insulting words and foul language,” said the room-mate.

“I put up with him because he was very drunk. He said that he wanted to have sex with me, my sister and my mother but I didn’t respond with anything more than telling him he was drunk.”

Hours later, B A had had enough of the driver’s drunken behaviour and so he told him off for being irresponsible.

“I told him he should be ashamed of himself and that he drinks all the time and keeps insulting me while drunk,” he said.

B A was standing on his room’s balcony at this point and M S was standing inside. The defendant then walked towards B A and tried to push him off the balcony but failed.

“I acted quickly and saw that he wanted to push me. I asked him what was wrong with him, then a friend came and took him away,” said BA.

The drunk then went to the kitchen, picked up a knife and, when his room-mate was not looking, stabbed him in the chest, prosecutors said.

“I felt dizzy when he stabbed me and screamed for the men near us to come,” said B A. “When they did, the defendant told them that he had not stab me but I stabbed myself.

“He was laughing when he was telling the men that I stabbed myself, then he fainted.

“He told me as he stabbed me that if this one didn’t kill me he will make sure I’m dead before he goes away.”

The victim later woke up in hospital after being rescued by the other men.

Pakistani driver K M, 35, testified that he lives in the same apartment and that he came in between the two when M S tried to push B A off the balcony. He said he then went to the toilet and, when he came out, B A had been stabbed.

He said 13 more men live in the same two-bedroom apartment.

“The day before he was also drinking alcohol and we found him drunk in the toilet, so we took him to his bed, but the next morning he resumed drinking — he drank many bottles,” said K M.

When police arrived M S was not in the apartment. He had cleaned the knife and then fled but he was arrested the following morning.

M S denied attempting to murder his room-mate but confessed to consuming alcohol illegally.

He was sentenced to a year for attempted murder to be followed by deportation and was fined Dh2,000 for the alcohol charge, which were all upheld by Dubai Court of Appeal.

salamir@thenational.ae