The Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday sentenced the driver, identified only as N K, to death. The verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
The victim allegedly owed the accused 45,000 dirhams in salary. The murder took place in July last year, local media reports said. "The court has unanimously agreed that the defendant will be executed. The knife and hammer [used in the crime] will also be confiscated," Presiding Judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi said.
Court records said the defendant battered the victim`s head with a mid-sized hammer before stabbing him 30 times on different parts of the body. A forensic doctor said the victim, identified as S R, suffered fatal stab wounds in the neck and another in the heart.
The defendant fled, but was eventually arrested three days later. Prosecutors said N K went to S R`s flat to purposely kill him. After making sure that the victim was alone, the defendant hit SR in the head with a hammer. As N K fell on the floor, the defendant pinned him down and hit him again before repeatedly stabbing him with a knife.
N K pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed that he acted in self-defence.