A man was raped and murdered before his body was buried in the Dubai desert, a court heard.
The 30-year-old Pakistani died of suffocation after he was tied up and had his mouth stuffed with sand.
His body was found, covered in sand and rocks, two weeks after his disappearance by workers at a labour accommodation in Jebel Ali on March 16, Dubai Criminal Court was told.
Police were alerted and a team of investigators and forensic experts were sent to the scene.
Investigations revealed the victim was captured on CCTV footage at a petrol station with two men shortly before his death.
Police identified the two men and tracked down one of them, aged 21. The second man left the country a day after he was seen with the victim.
The man was arrested and during questioning admitted to murder and said his co-accused plotted the attack, the court heard.
During questioning, he said the second man, 31, had raped the man before they tied him up.
The other suspect filled the victim's mouth with sand, he said.
He told police his partner had asked him to arrange a meeting with the man.
“He told us that the other defendant provided him with the victim’s mobile number and asked him to call the man and arrange for a meeting,” said a police officer.
The two met the victim near his residence in Jebel Ali then took him in a car belonging to their company to a remote area.
“He [the co-accused] was angry and screaming at the man accusing him of defaming him, then told me to rape the victim but I refused, so he raped him then asked me to hand a rope from the car’s booth,” the defendant told the court.
He told police his co-accused took the victim's mobile phone and wallet before they dug a hole and buried him.
The defendant denied a premeditated murder charge, admitting he was present but saying he did not take part in the killing.
The other accused, who is still at large, will face charges of premeditated murder, rape and theft.
The case was adjourned until October 16 for a lawyer to be appointed for the defendant.
