Life sentence for man who murdered wife in Dubai villa over affair

Dubai Criminal Court sentences Sri Lankan for premeditated murder after his wife revealed she was cheating on him.

DUBAI // A man who slashed his wife’s leg with a knife, slapped her and then strangled her because she was cheating on him, will serve life in jail after Dubai Criminal Court convicted him of premeditated murder.

The body of Sri Lankan victim S H was found in a storeroom of a villa in Springs 11 on June 4.

Her husband, S S, who is also Sri Lankan, told prosecutors that he killed his wife because she had had several affairs since they married in 2007.

“I called her that day and her phone was busy,” the 32-year-old said. “I went to the villa where she worked and she was still on the phone, so I asked her who she was talking to. She said she was talking to her lover because she wanted to spend the night with him, so I got furious.

“I slapped her, she tried to strangle me, so I picked up a knife that was near and slashed her leg. Then, when she fell, she tried to pull the knife out of my hands but I sat on her chest and strangled her.”

The victim’s cousin, K R, 35, who works as a maid in the same area, said that on the day of the murder the victim called her and told her she had fought with her husband.

“She told me he had screamed at her but I didn’t know why. I called her later in the afternoon but she never answered,” K R said.

The cousin went looking for her and checked the storeroom of the villa because she knew S H was allowed to keep some of her belongings there.

“I found the door slightly open and I saw legs on the floor. I felt terrified and called my aunt, who arrived and saw the body and then called police,” K R said.

Police confirmed that the villa’s tenants said the woman worked there as a part-time maid.

Emirati policeman M A, 36, said: “The body was lying face down on the floor, where the footprints of someone were found in the blood, which was all over the floor and walls. The knife was also found in the corner of the room.”

The head of the criminal forensic medicine department, F O, said in his testimony: “She had multiple cuts in her face, neck, abdomen, hand, arm and thigh. She also had several scratches on her neck and jaw, and other parts of her body.”

Despite his confession, the husband denied the premeditated murder of his wife on June 3, but he was found guilty and will be deported after serving his jail term. The verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.