Mother ‘caused death of her toddler by violently stamping on his stomach’



DUBAI // A mother killed her 14-month-old son by stamping violently on his stomach, a court heard.

The 33-year-old Emirati denied a charge of premeditated murder on her first appearance at Dubai Criminal Court on Wednesday.

“I didn’t kill him,” she said. “I have other children that I raised and I even raised my sisters and brothers.

“I didn’t kill him, he was sick and we have been to many places seeking treatment for him.”

Prosecutors allege she stamped on the baby’s stomach so violently the child later died of his injuries in hospital.

Her maid, a 46-year-old Indonesian, said: “She was treating the baby mercilessly, shoving the spoon into his mouth and throwing him on the bathroom floor naked to bathe him.

“Once I walked in on her to see she was pressing with great strength on his stomach and, when she noticed me, she stopped.”

The alleged assault that led to the baby’s death happened on July 16 last year at the mother’s home in Al Qusais, Dubai. She took her child to the Saudi-German Hospital for treatment, where he died.

Doctors alerted police. The maid said the child would cry constantly at night, and his mother would not attempt to calm him.

“The only time I wouldn’t hear him crying are the times when his father was home,” the maid said.

The defendant’s sister said she often saw bruises and scratches on the child’s face and neck.

“Once, I noticed a bruise under his eye and, when I touched it, I discovered the bruise was dark blue but covered with make-up,” she said. Her sister used to tie the baby’s legs with a headscarf, she told the court.

A doctor working at the Saudi-German Hospital said the baby had been treated for a number of serious injuries.

“I had been following up on the child since he was one month old,” said the Egyptian.

“He came to the hospital four times: the first he suffered from a brain haemorrhage; the second time he suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting; then a fractured thigh bone.

“On October 2, 2015, he was brought in with a fractured skull. He was treated from all that and discharged.”

A medical report found the child died because of internal bleeding in the abdomen caused by violent pressure, which damaged his intestines.

The case was adjourned until February 11.

salamir@thenational.ae

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The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

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