DUBAI // A housewife bit her maid, stuck scissors in her ears and poured boiling water over her as punishment, Dubai Criminal Court has been told.
The Jordanian, 33, appeared in court where she denied a charge of physical assault causing a permanent disability to the Indonesian maid, who lost hearing in one of her ears.
The victim, 28, said she had worked for the defendant since 2013 and was subjected to various forms of abuse.
“For any mistake she would hit me with her hands, a knife, scissors, sticks and sometimes bite me, pull my hair, and other times pour boiling water on my body,” said the maid.
She said she lost the hearing in her left ear after her head was banged against a wall.
The maid said she was often locked in her room to stop her running away but in January this year she escaped to the Indonesian consulate in Dubai.
“She arrived on a Thursday and said she ran away because her boss was abusing her physically, and didn’t even give her any wages for the time she worked at her house,” said an employee at the consulate.
The maid was taken to Rashid Hospital for treatment. Bruises, burn marks and other signs of abuse were found on her body and head, as well as bite marks on her shoulders.
Prosecutors said the defendant told them she locked up the maid at night because she feared for her children. She said she had not paid the maid since June, but had paid her wages on time before then.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 6.
salamir@thenational.ae
