Doha

The Court of Appeal has commuted the death sentence awarded to two murder convicts as the victim's family has accepted the blood money, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported.

The convicts have been given jail terms of five and two years, respectively, the report states.

The duo, along with some unidentified teenagers, had hatched a plan to steal a vehicle from a company storehouse in the Ain Khalid area. Accordingly, they dropped a ball in the place and sought the guard's permission to let them retrieve the ball.

Once inside, one of them attacked the guard, who started to scream. They then gagged him and beat him up. The guard tried to put up a resistance but eventually succumbed to the injuries.

The accused stole the car and fled the spot. They also put the number plate of an abandoned car on it.

Following their conviction, the duo was sentenced to death by a court. Later, when the victim's kin accepted the blood money and reported to the court that each had got the due share, the sentence was commuted to a prison term for both convicts.