Man drinks poison then stabs his ex

DUBAI // A man who converted from Hinduism to Islam for his girlfriend drank half a litre of pesticide then stabbed her after she broke off their three-year relationship.

JK, a 32-year-old Indian security guard, appeared in the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday charged with attempted murder.

He told police he had been in love with a 40-year-old Sri Lankan maid since 2008 and "gave up everything for her".

She broke off the relationship early last year but would not explain why.

On July 5, JK went to her place of work, the Sharaf El Din apartment block in Al Nahda. He had a knife and a juice bottle full of pesticide.

He told police he asked her why she dumped him but she did not respond, so he drank the poison and asked again. But she again refused to give him an answer.

Dubai Police's investigating officer, JS, said JK had confessed his crime to police.

"He said he stabbed her and then proclaimed, 'Why I be poison and she be life?', meaning why should I die and let her live," said the officer.

JK also faces charges of consensual sex and attempted suicide at the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours. The maid has been charged with consensual sex.

A verdict in the attempted murder case will be delivered on February 7.

amustafa@thenational.ae