DUBAI // A man stabbed and killed another man because he had posted pictures and defaming comments about the suspect's sister on Facebook, police said yesterday.
Police arrested the suspect, identified as K A, of India, as he was trying to escape through Dubai International Airport just 10 hours after the fatal stabbing.
Police received a report at about 2.30pm on Wednesday that D M, 30, also of India, had been stabbed to death at the car park of a hotel apartment in Al Jafiliya in Al Rifa'a area. The victim had been in the country for two months.
"The man was stabbed 10 times with a knife in different places, including his abdominal and his face," said Lt Col Ahmed Al Merri, of Dubai Police CID. "The way the victim was killed indicated that the act was anger and revenge-motivated."
Colleagues of the victim told police that a man had come asking for him. The two men started talking, and in a few seconds they disappeared to the car park. In less than a minute, they said, they saw the suspect rush out of the car park.
Police said they got their first clue about the suspect's identity from the CCTV camera installed in the building, which captured the man's face from above. From these images, police said they were able to print a picture of him.
Also at the crime scene was an 800-metre-long stretch of blood, which police believed to have come from K A, after he had allegedly stabbed the victim.
"The blood line indicated that the attacker must have been injured, and stains on the wall he was walking beside indicated that he must have done so on his right hand," Lt Col Al Merri said.
Police also found a witness who said the man had fled the scene in a small, white car.
Several teams from the CID were deployed, and all hospitals and pharmacies were monitored because the suspect was injured. All the UAE's border posts were also kept under surveillance and the suspect's pictures circulated.
Just before midnight on Wednesday, a Dubai immigration officer at the airport matched the suspect's photo with a passenger who was checking in luggage.
"The officer was very sharp. He was able to identify him while he was still checking his baggage. A white bandage on his right hand made the job easier," Lt Col Al Merri said.
The immigration officer refused to let the suspect go, and a witness was brought in to identify him.
The suspect reportedly confessed to the crime when confronted by the evidence.
He told police that the victim had worked with his sister back home in Kerala, and had posted pictures he had taken of her on Facebook, along with nasty remarks.
"I continuously asked him to stop defaming my sister, but he did not listen," K A reportedly told police.
The suspect told police that he had lodged a complaint with law-enforcement authorities back home, but they did not take action.
The suspect has been referred to public prosecution on a charge of premeditated murder.
