Published in: Gulf News | Khaleej Times | The Filipino Times | Periodical Today | The National
A Dubai layover that turned to deadly betrayal ends in civil damages for a businessman’s family.
According to the family’s lawyer, the victim’s business partner, a 52-year-old woman, was behind the kidnap and murder. The woman, her son, and three other men, were convicted of kidnap, murder and theft charges in 2019. They were sentenced to life in prison to be followed by deportation, which was upheld by both Appeal and Cassation courts. “The man’s family were deprived of their provider and in a very vicious way and we filed the civil case,” said Dr. Hassan Elhais, Legal Consultant from Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy, which represents the victim’s family. “The court’s verdict stated that Dh200,000 part of the compensation amount is for the excruciating pain the man endured while being brutally attacked and buried in the desert. The compensation was also for the betrayal he must have felt from his partner.”
The mastermind
He added that court records showed that the woman was the mastermind behind the murder, enlisting her son and the three suspects to kidnap, kill and steal the victim’s money. The businessman was supposed to go with the woman on a trip to Portugal after staying in Dubai for a few days. “The two of them were supposed to stay in the emirate for a few days only, after they arrived from New Zealand and were then to board a plane to Portugal,” said Elhais. The victim’s son arrived in Dubai and reported his father missing after he lost contact with him.
How police cracked the case
According to records, Dubai Police located the hotel where the man was staying and video footage from the hotel’s surveillance cameras showed him walking out of the hotel with four men and the woman before driving off in a rented car. When police checked the car’s number plate, they found it was last seen parked in a villa in Jumeirah. Officers found that three suspects had left the country after a couple of days. However, after a few weeks, the three suspects were arrested after their transit flight landed at Dubai International Airport coming from Thailand. They admitted to killing the businessman brutally in the villa before burying his body in a deserted area in Abu Dhabi. They stole more than Dh145,000 from his bank account through bank transfers. Forensic reports proved he died of multiple head, chest, and back fractures after he was assaulted with solid objects. However, the woman claimed the businessman forced her to have an illicit affair with him in the hotel and she called her son for revenge. A five per cent interest rate must also be paid on top of the total compensation amount. “If not paid until after the convicts’ release from prison, the accumulated interest rate would increase the amount to Dh2.4 million in total,” said Elhais.
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