Surveillance footage aired in court at Tamim trial

Dubai Police testify suspect was filmed entering building

CAIRO // Video footage purporting to show the killer of the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim entering and leaving her building in Dubai was shown in court yesterday. Capt Eissa Saeed Mohammed of the Dubai Police testified that the man seen entering Ms Tamim's tower block at Jumeirah Beach Residence at 8.48am on July 28 last year, waiting for the lift and leaving 12 minutes later, was Mohsen al Sokari.

Mr al Sokari, 39, a former Egyptian police officer, was arrested in August in Cairo on a charge of killing Ms Tamim. Hisham Talaat Moustafa, 49, a billionaire and a member of Egypt's ruling party, is accused of hiring Mr al Sokari to kill Ms Tamim, his estranged lover, for US$2million (Dh7.35m). Further surveillance video was said to show Mr al Sokari checking out of the Oasis Hotel, where he had been staying, at 9.30am on the same day.

A post-mortem examination indicated that Ms Tamim was killed about that time. The judge adjourned the trial until Feb 14 and ordered that the defendants remain in custody. [e-mail]