A man who murdered a shopkeeper then fled the country 15 years ago was sentenced to life in jail on Sunday.
The Pakistani thought the charge against him would have been lost in the system or dropped when he returned to Dubai last year.
But a court heard the 46-year-old was arrested immediately and he found himself on trial for murder.
On April 20, 2003, he and two other men, another Pakistani, 39, and an Indian tailor, 36, attacked the shopkeeper at his shop in the Naif area of Deira.
The tailor said he acted as a lookout while the other two hit the victim with a hard object on the head and stabbed him in the chest, neck and arms.
They stole his mobile phones, Dh300 in cash and his bank card, which they later used to withdraw Dh5,500 and split it among them.
Police tracked down and apprehend the tailor after he was caught by an ATM camera withdrawing cash.
“The relatives of the victim reported that someone has been withdrawing from their dead man’s bank account, so we investigated and found a recording of the tailor withdrawing the cash,” said a police lieutenant, 39.
The tailor admitted being involved and tipped police off about his accomplices, who were both found to be outside the country.
“One returned three months later and was arrested at Dubai International Airport but the third remained at large, to be arrested only 14 years later. He was caught when he returned to Dubai,” said the officer.
Those two were convicted in 2004.
The suspect that had been at-large denied charges of premeditated murder and theft - but was sentenced to life in jail.
