By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Pakistani national who confessed to stabbing Negrense overseas filipino worker (OFW) Maria Lenlie Oliverio-Pichathara in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year was sentenced to 27 years in jail by the Dubai Criminal Court, last Thursday.
In an article by Arab news outlet The Gulf Today, the suspect, only identified as Korshed, admitted to the crime during the hearing, but maintained he did not intend to kill Oliverio, who was originally from Barangay Guiljungan, Cauayan, Negros Occidental.
“Yes, I stabbed her but I did not intend to kill her,” he insisted. “We had a heated argument and we fought, I did cause her death, but I had not planned to do so in advance.”
Based on an investigation by Dubai police, Oliverio was stabbed a total of 66 times with a knife.
He was charged for the crimes of murder and robbery.
In regards to the robbery charge, Korshed said, “I stole her money and then I returned it.”
After serving his time behind bars, the UAE court also ordered for his deportation back to Pakistan.
On February 19, 2016, a Pakistani woman, who owns a salon near Oliverio’s apartment, found the victim’s remains inside her unit.
Oliverio’s live-in partner, Haris Pitchathara Hameed, an Indian national, was initially considered the primary suspect.
The victim’s remains were eventually repatriated back to Cauayan in March of last year./WDJ