A Dubai-based Pakistani sous chef has been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his co-worker to death.
The colleague, who also hailed from Pakistan, was speaking on the phone to the chef's wife in December, apparently angering the man when he overheard the conversation. The chef was preparing tea at the time, but after he realized who his coworker was speaking to, he picked up a knife and stabbed the other man repeatedly.
"He picked up a knife, grabbed him by his shirt and stabbed him three times in the neck," a chef who witnessed the murder told The National.
The two men didn't have previous problem
The fellow chef said that the two men always seemed to be on good terms and had never had a previous argument to his knowledge.
He explained that something changed dramatically "when the defendant heard his name three times during the phone call" and realized the colleague was speaking to his wife.
After the stabbing, the murderer tried to flee the scene.
"He managed to escape to the first floor of the mall but we chased him and called for security, who apprehended him before he could get out of the mall," the other chef explained.
A security guard intervened, taking him to the security room. The Nepalese guard explained that the attacker appeared "very scared" at the time.
The chef claims he defended himself from a spoon attack
While the chef was convicted of the crime and also lost his appeal, he maintains that it was an act of self-defense.
He claims his co-worker first attacked him with a spoon, prompting him to stab him in defense.
Regardless of his claims, the Dubai court found the man guilty and he has been sentenced to "life in prison." A typical life sentence in the UAE is 25 years followed by deportation.