Lankan executed by firing squad in Abu Dhabi

A Sri Lankan man was executed on Thursday morning by a firing squad in Abu Dhabi after being convicted of murdering an Emirati engineer in Al Ain in 2002.

Sources confirmed that the 36-year-old man was executed at 7am in the presence of a judge, general public prosecutor, Imam, doctor and police officials.

The man stabbed to death Mohammad Obaid Al Muhairi, a 39-year-old father of eight.

Al Muhairi was the deputy head of the engineering section at Al Ain Municipality and Town Planning Department.

The Sri Lankan was sentenced to death by an Abu Dhabi court after being convicted on charges of murder, breaking into a house and having an illicit affair with a woman.

Blood parents of the victim refused to waive their rights or pardon the killer. A day before his execution, the man told Gulf News over the phone from a cell in solitary confinement that he regretted what he did and that he accepted his destiny. He also said that police officials and the prison warden had been very kind and supportive.

The Sri Lankan man, a father of one daughter who worked for a company in Fujairah, was having an affair with a Sri Lankan housemaid during the time of the attack.

On the night of the murder, he went to meet the woman at her sponsor's house in Al Ain to spend the night with her in her room. While the couple were together, Al Muhairi woke up for morning prayers and when he heard strange noises from the housemaid's room, he went to check. The housemaid reportedly denied that someone else was in her room.

The Sri Lankan tried to run away but was caught by Al Muhairi, they fought and he attacked Al Muhairi, stabbing him to death in his chest with a knife.

Courtesy: Gulf News