Singer murdered band’s drummer, Dubai court told

A singer denies killing a drummer who failed to welcome his friend at a party in their labour camp.

DUBAI // A singer murdered the drummer in his band after he failed to give a party guest a sufficiently warm welcome, a court heard yesterday.

The singer, incredulous at his band-mate’s failure to recognise the reveller, stabbed his friend in the heart before fleeing the country. He was tracked down only after years of investigation by police.

The pair were performing at a party at the Al Habtoor labour camp in Jebel Ali on June 26, 2009, when a row broke out over the guest’s treatment.

“Don’t you know who this man is?” yelled the singer, N?A, 27, from Pakistan, when the drummer failed to acknowledge the guest’s entrance.

Upset, the drummer returned to his room to sleep, while the other guests tried to calm the singer.

Prosecutors told the Criminal Court their efforts were unsuccessful as 20 minutes later the singer took a knife from the kitchen and went to confront the drummer, stabbing him in the heart after a brief chase.

The drummer was killed instantly and the singer left his body in a pool of blood before returning to his own room, washing and changing his clothes.

He then fled to Al Aweer where some of his friends helped him escape to Pakistan, via Abu Dhabi and Oman.

Several workers interrogated by police said the singer had killed the drummer, but it was only following years of investigation and after reaching the singer’s brother in Pakistan, that police were able to track him down and organise his extradition with the country’s authorities.

In court, the singer denied a charge of murder and the case was adjourned to September 15.