A view of Dubai Knowledge Village. (Photo for illustrative purposes only)

A worker was electrocuted and burnt to death when he used an iron cutter to cut electric cables and steal them along with two friends from a building at the Knowledge Village

The three Pakistani men were said to have decided to break into the electricity room of a building, cut the electric cables and steal them in October 2013.

The three workers went to the building behind a university campus, according to records, before two of them ran away once they saw their partner completely charred after he got electrocuted.

Onsite inspections and primary interrogations that were carried out by Dubai police unveiled the involvement of a 31-year-old Pakistani worker.

The latter was taken into custody for questioning, during which he claimed that he and his two friends [including the deceased] had decided upon them to steal the cables so they could sell them later.

Prosecutors accused the 31-year-old of attempting to steal electric cables in cooperation with two suspects, the one who burned to death and another one who remains at large.

The suspect pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.

“I did not try to steal anything …” he told the court.

When asked by presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi if he knew the victim, the 31-year-old replied: “Yes I knew because he was Pakistani. He also worked in a company located in front of my workplace. But I had nothing to do with what happened.”

A police corporal testified to prosecutors that a police patrol was dispatched to the location after an explosion sound was heard.

“When we reached the location we found the victim whose body was completely charred. The deceased was identified and primary interrogations revealed the involvement of the 31-year-old suspect. Following his arrest, the suspect claimed during questioning that he and his two friends decided to break into the electricity room and steal electric cables … however, he claimed that once their friend was electrocuted and was burned to death, they absconded instantly. He also claimed that the deceased was the one who used the cutter to cut the cables before he got electrocuted,” the corporal claimed to prosecutors

source : gulfnews