The Abu Dhabi Criminal Appeal Court handed down the death penalty to the cabbie after convicting him of premeditated murder and endangering others’ lives.

An Asian taxi driver who deliberately mowed down a 12-year-old Arab boy after some children played a prank on him, was sentenced to death on Monday by an Abu Dhabi court.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Appeal Court handed down the death penalty to the cabbie after convicting him of premeditated murder and endangering others’ lives.

The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation had earlier ordered the retrial of the case after overturning the verdict of the Courts of First Instance, which had convicted the cabbie of intentionally mowing down the victim. The court ruled that the defendant put the lives of three children at risk when he chased them while driving his cab at Shabiat Musaffah area on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

The court had sentenced the cabbie to 15 years in jail to be followed by deportation and ordered him to pay Dh200,000 blood money to the heirs of the victim. He was also ordered to pay an additional Dh21,000 as temporary compensation as per the civil proceedings.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Appeal Court overturned the verdict and called for Qisas (death penalty).

The defendant said on the day of the incident, the children played a prank on him by throwing some trash in his cab. He chased them on foot, but they fled. Some time later, he found them playing in a nearby sandy area. “I moved towards them in my car, which I drove at 40km per hour, and knocked down the victim unintentionally,” the cabbie told the court.

His statement, however, did not match the technical evidence. The forensic medicine report stated that the death was a result of a fracture in the bottom of the skull, which led to bleeding in the head.

The three friends of the deceased boy said that he was not even part of the prank.

They said the defendant sped towards them in his car, following which they ran away, leaving the deceased standing there. He did run forward, but the cabbie knocked him down before driving away, they said. — news@khaleejtimes.com