Dubai:
An Indian man, described by his lawyer as the "most stupid" person he has encountered in 40 years, has been sentenced to death by a UAE court for murdering a domestic help.
The man, who worked as a cook for a UAE government official, beat the domestic help, who he had been having a relationship with, to death after she told him she was pregnant and threatened to report him for rape, three years ago.
He believed her claims even though they had never had sex, local media reported.
The man lived in a villa near the domestic help's place of work in Abu Dhabi. They met while dumping rubbish in dustbins.
A few days later, as the cook was working on the roof, the domestic help saw him and called him over to her employer's house, who was away on holiday at the time.
He went and they had a "romantic time on the roof which did not exceed hugging", the defence lawyer said.
A week later he visited her again and she told him he had made her pregnant while threatening that she would accuse him of rape.
The cook, who was described by his lawyer as the "most stupid murderer" he has seen in 40 years, believed her.
He hit the domestic help on her head with a large stone thrice, killing her and then placed her body in a bathtub filled with water and set the villa on fire to destroy the evidence. The villa was reduced to ashes, but the bathtub survived as it was filled with water.
The defendant was arrested after he went to his employer asking him to help him flee the country.
But his employer reported him, offering to pay defence expenses and blood money.
The case had been on hold since 2010 because the court could not locate the domestic help's family.