Pakistani men killed their sponsor by slitting throat, Dubai court hears

The men allegedly attacked their sponsor in his office, stole more than Dh200,000 in cash and tried to flee the country.

DUBAI // Two men murdered their sponsor by slitting his throat before stealing more than Dh200,000 from him, a court has heard.

On the night of December 11 last year, the victim, Farouq Zadah, was at his office with the Pakistani defendants M F, 25 and M A, 22.

Prosecutors said M A restrained the victim while M F killed him. They then stole three packets of cash – two containing dirhams and one containing dollars.

They fled to Sharjah to meet their compatriot M A A, 23, whom they asked to arrange for them to be smuggled out the country.

M A A later told prosecutors: “M F said he had killed his sponsor and that he and M A wanted to leave the country. So I arranged it with another man, M M, who requested Dh5,000 from each of them to help them get out of the country unnoticed.”

At 4.20am the next day, Afghani M B, 35, returned to his apartment, which was in the same building as the office, from a gathering with friends.

“I found [Zadah’s] body between the bed and the wall. I freaked out and called for help, then called police.”

M B said that when he had left the apartment, the victim was in the company of M F, adding that the two had had disputes in the past.

Investigations lead to the arrest of M A A at his Sharjah apartment, where police found Dh186,000 and US $14,000. He then helped police arrest M M.

While in custody, M A A received a call from M F who asked him for Dh20,000. The two alleged murderers were then arrested in a sting operation.

Prosecutors said M F confessed to a premeditated murder charge, saying the victim had insulted and assaulted him after he brought M A to his office to fix his computer.

“He claimed that it was the victim who had the blade and tried to attack him with it,” said police captain A S, 43.

The policeman said that M A had confessed that he had been injured in the fight, so he went to the bathroom to wash off the blood.

M A also said that M F did not mean to kill Zadah, but had accidentally cut his throat while trying to remove the blade from his hand.

“M A told me that the blade hit the man’s neck, he started bleeding and M F freaked out then ran away after taking the money,” the captain said.

At the Dubai Criminal Court yesterday, M F and M A denied premeditated murder charge and theft. M A A also denied he aided and abetted the defendants, as well as possessing stolen money charges. M M denied aiding and abetting.

The next hearing will be on May 19 to appoint lawyers for the defendants.