Emma Cambalon
Emma Angos Cambalon was a Filipina expatriate worker and mother of four. The National reported that she had lived in Dubai for about six years. After her death, the Philippine consulate arranged for her remains to be repatriated to her family in the Philippines.
Her identity was not immediately known to investigators because no identification documents were found with her. Police spent weeks trying to establish who she was before a friend came forward with information that allowed investigators to identify her.
The investigation
Dubai Police then focused on a Filipino driver who had been in a relationship with Cambalon. Contemporary reports identify him inconsistently as E.G. and E.R.; this page preserves those initials rather than inferring a full name. Police said he was seen leaving a residence with a suitcase containing Cambalon's belongings and was brought in for questioning.
Investigators said the defendant admitted involvement in the killing after an argument. In court, he said that he had loved Cambalon and had not intended to kill her. Prosecutors nevertheless pursued a murder charge, and forensic evidence was presented during the proceedings.
Trial and appeal
On April 14, 2011, the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison followed by deportation. Prosecutors had sought a death sentence, but the court imposed the prison term.
On May 22, 2011, The National reported that the Dubai Court of Appeal affirmed the 15-year sentence. The reviewed sources do not establish a later Court of Cassation ruling, so this case file does not invent one. The verified record is a murder conviction upheld on appeal.
Timeline
March 26, 2010: Emma Cambalon is found dead in Dubai.
April 2010: After an identification effort, police establish her identity and arrest the man with whom she had been in a relationship.
July 2010: Philippine authorities and the consulate arrange the repatriation of Cambalon's remains to her family.
April 14, 2011: Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance convicts the defendant and imposes a 15-year prison sentence followed by deportation.
May 22, 2011: Dubai Court of Appeal upholds the sentence.
Current status
The case is classified as Solved / Adjudicated because the defendant was convicted of Emma Cambalon's murder and the conviction and sentence were upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeal. This page makes no claim about a later cassation proceeding because none was established in the reviewed sources.