Dubai court rules woman who killed her maid must serve 15 years jail

The Court of Cassation ruling means the woman who subjected her maids to such horrific torture that one of them died must serve her prison term.

DUBAI // The Court of Cassation has upheld the 15 year jail sentence for the woman who subjected her maids to such appalling torture that one of them died.

This means Emirati R M, 45, must serve the prison term as the appeal process has been exhausted.

The court also upheld the sentence of three years in prison for her husband, A F, for aiding and abetting his wife in the crime.

R M had imprisoned the two maids, an Ethopian and a Filipina, in a room with sealed windows at her villa in Al Rashidiya for more than a month, where she refused to feed them.

The Filipina maid, E K, 29, said R M beat them with sticks, smashed their heads against the wall until they bled, stripped them naked and forced them to drink cleaning liquids.

The Ethiopian, Khadija Kamel, eventually caught pneumonia and R M refused to give her proper medication.

Her death was also hastened when R M forced her drink pesticide.

“When Khadija died, R M offered me huge amounts of money to keep my mouth shut,” said E K.

The husband helped his wife to prepare the room where the maids were imprisoned by sealing the windows.

The couple were found guilty of the charges at the Criminal Court in January, before the Appeal Court upheld the sentences in April.