Mother 'did not want to sell baby'

DUBAI // A defence lawyer for a woman who allegedly attempted to sell another woman's baby boy to an Emirati family has accused police of entrapment. The defendant, a 24-year-old Indonesian woman identified as HN, was enticed into the sale by officers posing as potential buyers, the Dubai Court of First Instance heard yesterday. Harnun Tahlak, defending, told the court that police also failed to follow proper arrest procedures.

In his closing argument, he said HN was not arrested "red-handed", as she had decided not to sell the child. HN was charged with human trafficking and was arrested after information was leaked to Dubai Police. An anti-human trafficking officer said she was investigating reports of a woman who was shopping for an Emirati buyer to sell a baby for Dh10,000. According to her statement, HN received a telephone call on October 30 last year to arrange the purchase. A time and place was set and the price was reduced to Dh8,500 according to records. Records show the baby was handed to the family before they paid the money to HN. During questioning by police, HN said the baby was her friend's unwanted child.

The child's mother told prosecutors she wanted a family to take care of the child because she had had it out of wedlock. She maintained that she did not know about any proposed sale of the child. The presiding judge, Fahmy Mounir, is expected to give a verdict on June 20. [e-mail]