Three Asians were sentenced to death and eight others face lashes and imprisonment for their part in the murder and robbery of a real estate agent in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia four years ago. A three-judge panel of the Jeddah General Court issued the sentences on Saturday.

The gang, with male and female members from Sri Lanka and India, were convicted of killing the real estate agent and stealing money and valuables from his apartment in Jeddah. The case was published in Okaz/Saudi Gazette four years ago.

The Prosecutor-General had wanted all 11 to get the death sentence but the court refused the request because the conditions for such a sentence had not been met.

Three individuals — Qayan, Isk and Parshan - will be beheaded. Five of the accused — Ashraf Shilakut, Komar, Rajis, Ranget and Muhammad Kona — got five-year sentences and 1,000 lashes each.

Noura, one of the females, was sentenced to four years in prison and 400 lashes while the other female member, Rajia, was sentenced to six months in prison. The last male member, Aziz, was sentenced to six months in prison.

The guilty persons have 30 days to lodge an appeal.

The criminals had broken into the apartment of the deceased, tied him up, stuffed a towel in his mouth and struck him repeatedly over the head with a steel object until he died. After the police caught the criminals, they were referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP). The BIP demanded the death sentence for all the suspects because of the brutality of the crime.

All the criminals admitted to participating in the murder. The criminal evidence department found the fingerprints of the criminals at the crime scene.

In their confessions, the criminals also blamed the murder victim’s housemaid for telling an Indian cabdriver that the businessman kept money in his house. The taxi driver told his Sri Lankan friends about the money and they decided to break into the apartment and steal the money. (Source: Okaz/Saudi Gazette)