Baby dies after mother stamps on his stomach, Dubai court told

The incident happened on July 16 last year at the defendant’s home in Al Qusais. The mother took her child to the Saudi German Hospital for treatment where he later died. Doctors then alerted police.

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DUBAI // A mother stamped on her 14-month-old baby’s stomach so violently that the child later died of his injuries in hospital, a court heard.

The 33-year-old Emirati’s maid told Dubai Criminal Court her employer was often violent toward her son.

“She was treating the baby mercilessly, shoving the spoon into his mouth and throwing him on the bathroom floor naked to bathe him,” said the 46-year-old Indonesian.

“Once I walked in on her to see she was pressing with great strength on his stomach and when she noticed me, she stopped.”

The incident happened on July 16 last year at the defendant’s home in Al Qusais. The mother took her child to the Saudi German Hospital for treatment, where he later died. Doctors alerted police.

The maid said the child would constantly cry at night, and his mother would not try to calm him down.

“The only time I wouldn’t hear him crying are the times when his father was home,” said the maid.

The defendant’s sister said she often saw bruises and scratches on the baby’s face and neck.

“Once, I noticed a bruise under his eye and when I touched it, I discovered the bruise was dark blue but covered with make-up,” she said, adding that the mother also used to tie the baby’s legs with a headscarf.

A doctor working at the hospital said the baby had been treated for a number of serious injuries.

“I had been following up on the child since he was one month old.

“He came to the hospital four times: the first he suffered from a brain haemorrhage, the second he suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting, then a fractured thigh bone.

“On October 2, 2015, he was brought with a fractured skull. He was treated from all that and discharged,” said the Egyptian.

A medical report found that the child died because of internal bleeding in the abdomen caused by violent pressure, which damaged his intestines.

The mother was not present in court to face a charge of premeditated murder as prison officers had not arrived to collect her, her lawyer said.

The next hearing will be on February 2.

salamir@thenational.ae