Unmarried woman charged with killing newborn

Aya Al Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution interrogated an unmarried Asian woman charged with killing her newborn baby. The suspect reportedly strangled the victim with the umbilical cord for fear that her sponsor would know about her giving birth.

The suspect confessed to the crime before the police but denied it in court.

The medical report affirmed that the newborn was strangled with the umbilical cord, causing him bruising around the nostrils and mouth, as a result of the pressure on these area with the fingers to hold his breath, which resulted in his suffocation.

The prosecution charged the suspect with premeditatedly killing her newborn, in addition to the crime of adultery.

The Criminal Court in Abu Dhabi sentenced the suspect to life jail and deportation for the crime of premeditated murder, and one year and deportation for adultery.

The suspect appealed the verdict and the Court of Appeal commuted the jail term to two years for the murder crime and 3 months for adultery.

The public prosecution and the suspect appealed the ruling to the Court of Cassation, that referred the verdict to the Court of Appeal for further decision by a different body.

The court sentenced the suspect to 3 years in jail to be followed by deportation.

The prosecution and the suspect appealed the ruling a second time, and the Public Prosecution affirmed that the ruling violated the provisions of Islamic Sharia, as it did not decide the blood money penalty on the basis that she was the mother of the child and that the victim had no heir. The suspect said the court did not respond to her request to bring the medical file stating that the birth was premature and that the fetus was not fully developed, with which the murder would not be denied.

She also indicated there was no translator and that the file did not include the fingerprint-lifting report nor the hospital report proving the pregnancy was for a period of less than six months.