SHARJAH, 5 July 2005 — A Sri Lankan man accused of attacking four women with a paper knife has entered a plea of not guilty in a court in Sharjah. The plea meant that he retracted a “confession” he gave to police after being arrested on March 14.
It is one of the most sensational cases in the UAE and the first such case in the GCC countries. The attacks between Feb.12 and Feb. 17 had spread panic among residents of Sharjah. Women stopped going out on their own and called off their morning walks along the Sharjah Creek although there was no incident where any woman was attacked in that area.
Fears were heightened by unfounded rumors that “dozens” of women were stabbed at random by a mentally deranged man.
Appearing in court Jude Pereira, 28, who has come to be called “Sharjah slasher,” maintained that he had “confessed” to police earlier because he was terrified after his arrest.
Pereira told the Sharjah Shariah Court comprising three judges on Sunday that he was innocent in contradiction to his “confession” in which he said he had carried out the attacks and he was not in a stable frame of mind.
Pereira, who faces four criminal charges including physical assault and sexual harassment, was subjected to medical tests after his arrest. The tests proved that he was mentally sound and stable.
In his “confession,” Pereira admitted that he had slashed the women using a small paper knife.
Police search of his home yielded three knives in a tin. Sunday’s was the third hearing of the case. The first two were adjourned because there was no lawyer to represent the accused. On June 29, Abdul Kareem took up the case.
