Woman fined for insulting husband and threatening to kill him in Dubai

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

Dubai Misdemeanor Court fined an Arab woman Dhs5,000 for insulting her ex-husband in a manner that harmed his honour and reputation and threatening to kill him. The court granted the defendant clemency in accordance with the provisions of Articles 100 and 101 of the Penal Code.

The Public Prosecution charged the accused with committing two crimes: using telecommunications services to abuse and hurt her ex-husband’s feelings in a way that besmirched his honour and reputation as evidenced in the papers and also threatening to kill him via a phone call. The defendant was referred to the Dubai Misdemeanor Court, which ruled that she should be fined.

According to the Public Prosecution, Al Muraqqbat Police Station received a report from an Arab man in which he accused his ex-wife of insulting and threatening to kill him in the presence of two witnesses. Photos of the timing of the phone calls were attached to his report. 

The victim stated that the accused was divorced three years ago and a dispute arose between them due to her failure to look after their children, adding that he was consequently prompted to submit a report to a child protection institution, which investigated the report in the presence of both parties.

As investigations confirmed the validity of the victim’s report, the institution was prompted to take an immediate decision for the children to be handed over to their father until the danger was averted.

According to the official documents, the victim was calling his children who were with their mother in the same evening the decision was issued. The children’s mobile was on speaker mode and the defendant picked up the phone from the children and began insulting him in a way that harmed his honour and reputation and threatened to kill him, apparently because she was angry at the decision issued to hand over her children.

Legal adviser Dr Alaa Nasr, the victim’s legal representative, said the accused denied the charges against her in the interrogations of the police and the public prosecution, despite the presence of two witnesses who confirmed the occurrence of the incident in the police report and the prosecution’s investigations.

The defendant’s legal representative pleaded that the accusation was malicious, but the court believed that this was intended for the defendant to escape punishment.

The court saw that the two charges levelled to the defendant were inseparably linked to each other and therefore should be considered as a criminal offence that should be punished in accordance with Article 89 of the Penal Code, he said.

He indicated that the court looked at the case and decided to grant some clemency to the defendant by fining her Dhs5,000.