Maid accused of throwing newborn down rubbish chute

Abu Dhabi Police are looking into allegations that an Ethiopian housemaid killed her newborn baby by throwing it down the trash chute. She said the baby was stillborn.

ABU DHABI // Police are investigating the death of a newborn baby girl who was allegedly thrown down a rubbish chute from the seventh floor of a Khalidiya building by her mother.

Col Rashid Boursheid, director of Abu Dhabi Police CID, said preliminary investigations revealed that the infant was born on Saturday.

The unwed mother, an Ethiopian housemaid who became pregnant in her home country, said the baby was stillborn. The infant was found wrapped in cloth inside a plastic bag.

“The investigation is ongoing to find out whether the child was still alive when she was thrown in the rubbish or whether she died because of the fall,” Col Boursheid said.

“The mother thought that her secret would be forever safe once she discarded of her infant daughter, especially that she hid her in a tightly closed plastic bag. But Abu Dhabi Police uncovered her crime within hours thanks to the efforts of highly skilled investigative officers.”

He added that the preliminary examination of the body and evidence led to the identification of the housemaid, L A S, 26, who was working illegally for a Canadian family in the building.

The family will be liable for recruiting an illegal labourer.

The woman said she delivered the infant by herself in her room without anyone in the family knowing.

She claimed that the baby was stillborn and she cut the umbilical cord with her hand. She then wrapped the infant in a piece of cloth, put her in plastic and threw her down the rubbish chute before returning to her housework.