BEIRUT: A Lebanese army soldier was arrested on Tuesday over the fatal knifing of a dentist for reportedly failing to stop his fiancee’s tooth pain following treatment at his clinic.
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces said the soldier stormed into dentist Elie Jasser’s clinic at noon, stabbed him seven times and fled the scene at Ablah village in the Bekaa Valley.
Local media reported that the soldier was angered because his Filipino fiancee remained in pain after treatment at Jasser’s clinic.
CCTV footage shared on social media showed the suspect walking into the clinic and then leaving the scene in a rush after the purported murder.
The incident has shaken the Lebanese and triggered a social media uproar, with many sympathizing with Jasser’s family and most users calling for a reenactment of capital punishment to “halt gruesome murders.”
Arab News spoke to a classmate of Jasser’s, who requested anonymity and graduated with him from Saint Joseph University.
“Horrible news, this is a jungle that we live in,” they said. “Elie didn’t deserve to die that way, especially as he’s a new father.”
An ISF source told Arab News that the suspect had admitted during preliminary investigations that he stabbed the victim over the unsatisfactory results of his fiancee’s treatment.
He will be referred to the Bekaa Attorney General’s office for further questioning.
“Crime scene investigators will accompany the suspect to the victim’s clinic in Ablah to reenact and explain how he carried out his murder,” said the source, who explained that prosecutors will later compare the suspect’s verbal statement with evidence collected at the scene.
Paramedics rushed to the aid of the badly injured dentist, who was taken to a hospital near Zahle, but sadly pronounced dead upon arrival.
Fellow dentist Mazen Najib said he had lost a very “passionate and bright colleague,” adding: “I cannot express how saddening this is, especially for his wife and four-month-old baby.”
