Emirati woman’s conviction for killing housemaid upheld

The Emirati housewife denied killing the maid on November 6 2013. The Cassation Court upheld her jail term and ordered her to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the victim's son.

ABU DHABI // An Emirati housewife who beat her maid to death has had her conviction upheld by the Cassation Court.

HA murdered the woman on November 6 2013 by severely beating her with a cane.

The Criminal Court previously sentenced her to three years in jail and ordered her to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the victim’s 16-year-old son — who chose the payment over a death penalty.

The Appeals Court later cut the jail sentence to one year.

Both the accused and public prosecution cassated the verdict.

HA claimed that the maid had in fact killed herself by drinking bleach, and said she would not have been able to kill the victim due to her small stature, physical weakness and a permanent disability in her left hand.

The court rejected her argument.

She added that her confessions were made under duress by CID agents and should have been dismissed.

She also claimed the murder weapon, a cane, was not the one she was using at the time.

Forensic reports showed that the cane found at the scene had traces of blood on it with DNA matching the victim.

The report also showed that the victim suffered injuries to her head and body, and were sustained on the same date as she was found dead.

There was also dispute over whether the victim’s son was of a legal age to make the decision regarding her sentence — the Cassation Court ruled that he was capable of making the decision.

The decision to award blood money was upheld.