Bailed man kills woman, then himself

A man due at a hearing to face charges of threatening a Dubai woman this summer killed her on Monday, then committed suicide, a court hears.

DUBAI // A man due at a hearing to face charges of threatening a Dubai woman this summer killed her on Monday, then committed suicide, the court was told yesterday. Rasheed Dabaz, 30, of Morocco, stabbed to death Roma Josh Buri and attacked her sister at about 9.45pm at Cordoba Villas in Dubai, court documents say. Mr Dabaz had been charged on July 26 with threatening Mrs Buri and her husband, Nicky, and was free on bail.

Mr Buri, 56, who is from Singapore, told prosecutors that he had seen Mr Dabaz on June 29 at his villa trying to break in and seize his wife. Mr Dabaz was accused of threatening Mrs Buri, saying he would cut off her head and "chop off her husband's legs", according to court documents. Officials did not release Mrs Buri's nationality. The presiding judge, Fahmy Mounir Fahmy, was told of Mr Dabaz's suicide yesterday by his lawyer in court.

Mrs Buri died of wounds to her face, neck and chest; her sister was being treated at Rashid Hospital with moderate injuries. Mr Dabaz's body was found by police in a nearby residential area. Police said Mrs Buri was involved in a relationship with him for more than a year after they met at Ski Dubai while her son was taking skiing lessons. According to a police source, Mrs Buri ended the relationship after Mr Dabaz found out she was married and became violent towards her and started stalking her.

The Singaporean consul, Yunus Rahman, said yesterday that he had no information on the case. Dubai Police are now expected to present prosecutors with a report on details of the investigation. The next court hearing has been scheduled for September 30. [e-mail]