A 26-year-old Asian man has been sentenced to life in prison by a Dubai court for the murder of his girlfriend, whose body he hid under his bed and later stashed in a suitcase. The ruling, issued by the Dubai Court of Appeal on April 29, affirmed a decision made by a lower court last September. The convict will face deportation after serving his prison term, according to the judgment reported by Khaleej Times.
According to court records, the tragic incident unfolded on January 26, 2022, in the man’s residence in International City during a heated argument between him and his girlfriend. As tensions escalated, the man resorted to strangling his partner and subsequently concealed her body under his bed. Additionally, he disposed of her belongings, including her mobile phone, in a sewage pipe.
Remarkably, the man’s flatmates returned home amidst this grim situation, yet failed to notice the deceased woman’s body. The following day, the man left for Jebel Ali, booking a hotel room, and then sent text messages to his flatmates confessing to the murder. They urged him to remove the body from the apartment.
Subsequently, the man purchased a large suitcase, packed the body inside, and abandoned it near a garbage bin. The grisly discovery was made by a security guard on January 29, 2022.
Detailing the discovery, a police officer revealed, “The police’s operations room received a call from the building’s guard who said a human leg stuck out from the suitcase when he tried to open it to check it.”
Following an investigation that swiftly identified the victim and linked the defendant to the crime, the man was apprehended on the same day. Initially admitting to the crime during police interrogation, he later recanted his confession in court. Nevertheless, he was found guilty of murder and handed a life sentence.
Notably, the man’s flatmates, who were charged with failing to report the crime, received three-month jail sentences each. Upon completing their prison terms, they were deported from the country.
