DUBAI // A cleaner made a living performing abortions by giving women injections and tablets in return for nearly Dh1,000, a court heard this morning.
MS, 32, from Bangladesh, is charged with performing two abortions illegally and practising medicine without a licence, prosecutors said.
"I didn’t do it,” he told the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.
According to records, NP, a 34-year-old Indonesian maid, fell in love with a man and had a child with him. When the baby was seven months old, she told prosecutors, she got pregnant again. Her lover, who is identified in records as R and is at large, told her about MS and suggested that he help her abort the pregnancy.
“This is true, I'm guilty,” NP told the court while holding her two-year-old child.
She said MS visited her and gave her two injections and five tablets. Five hours after taking them, she said she felt severe pain in her back and abdomen, and the pregnancy was aborted. She paid MS Dh1,000, records show.
NP told prosecutors she buried the dead foetus behind the home of a compatriot, FP.
Months afterwards, NP's compatriot HB, 30, also went to MS for an abortion in her sixth month of pregnancy. A few hours after taking his medication on September 8, 2010, she gave birth to a boy, which died about 10 hours later.
The child was buried in the same place as NP’s foetus, prosecutors say. FP told prosecutors that when she learned about both incidents, she dug up the graves and gave the bodies to HB. She denied helping in their abortions but admitted to failing to report the incident to authorities.
NP and HB were both charged with having sex outside marriage, getting pregnant, having an abortion and hiding the bodies of the aborted babies.
They confessed to the charges.
PP, an Indonesian maid, was charged with aiding and abetting. She also confessed.
A verdict is expected on May 30.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit
As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.
