Maid jailed for sex, child with man she says was husband

The man left for the Philippines soon after the woman became pregnant and she was unable to provide the court with a marriage certificate.

DUBAI // A Filipina maid was sentenced this morning to one year in prison for having sex with a man she said was her husband.

"He was not able to come to Dubai to bring the marriage contract," NR, 25, said in the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours while holding her 2-month-old boy.

Her compatriot JA, whom she said was her husband, was sentenced to one year in prison in absentia as he had left the country soon after NR got pregnant.

She testified they got married in the Philippines on June 10, 2007, three days before she moved to Dubai for work. She said she had gotten an offer in Dubai that she had been waiting for and couldn't turn it down.

NR worked for her Emirati sponsor for two years, then fled to live with her husband, who also had come to Dubai seeking work.

"He came on a visit visa and resided in Satwa," she said.

On July 27 of this year, NR gave birth and was arrested. She said the staff at Al Baraha Hospital did not ask her for any official documents proving she was married.

"We didnt know we would need marriage documents to prove our relation," she said in records.

NR is charged with having sex outside the wedlock, getting pregnant from an illicit relationship, absconding from her sponsor and overstaying her visa.

She denied the first two charges, saying her marriage certificate was in the Philippines. She did not provide the court a copy.

JA left the county 10 days before she gave birth because his visa was expiring, she said.

NR will be deported after her sentence.