Five men who burnt the body of their friend who had overdosed on heroin will spend a year in prison each.
The men, a 23-year-old police officer with a Comoros Islands passport, a 28-year-old Emirati, and two 20-year-old men with Comoros Islands citizenship, and a fifth man, who was not identified in records, set fire to a car after placing the dead body of their friend on the passenger’s seat. One of them still remains at large.
On November 28, the victim, a 19-year-old Emirati, was released from prison after being pardoned from a jail term he was sentenced to for taking drugs.
His father picked him up from Dubai Police's drug control department and was asked to bring him in for monthly drug tests.
The victim's father, 52, said that the next day his son asked for a mobile phone and cash before borrowing his mother's car to go out.
"I told him to be careful and to stay away from bad friends and drugs. He said 'OK' and left," said the father, who did not hear from his son for days afterwards.
On December 14, he received a call from police telling him that his son's body had been found in a car that had been burnt near a park in Bu Hail.
According to prosecutors, the Emirati met with the five defendants on November 29. The men said he injected himself with one of the four syringes he had filled with heroin in the car before giving his friends the other three to use.
Read more: Three charged with burning the body of friend who died from heroin overdose
Afterwards, the man stopped breathing and collapsed. One of the defendants injected him with citric acid in an attempt to revive him then asked the four others to drive the victim to the nearest hospital.
"The 18-year-old Emirati defendant placed the victim in the passenger's seat, parked, opened the window and turned on the air conditioning. He and the other defendants then left the car," said a policeman, 43.
When they returned two days later, they saw the man dead and decided to burn the car to hide their tracks.
“On December 14, they purchased fuel from a nearby petrol station and the first three defendants, after being dropped off by the defendant at large, poured fuel on the car and set it ablaze and left,” said the policeman. Three other cars were partially damaged by the fire.
During questioning, the accused admitted to charges of attempting to hide a dead body by burning it, setting fire to a car, damaging property, and endangering the lives of others by lighting a fire in an inhabited area.
Three of the defendants denied all charges in court. One of them remains at large and the fifth one, an Emirati, was not named among suspects in the charges sheet but he was convicted by the court on Tuesday.
All five were sentenced to one year in prison. The three expatriates will be deported upon serving their prison terms and after jointly paying a fine of Dh62,400 for the damages caused.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
