Woman to stand trial in Dubai for beating housemaid to death

The 35-year-old defendant is said to have beaten the maid with a stick, banged her head against a wall and punched her over a period of time.

DUBAI // A woman has been referred to court for beating her housemaid to death, prosecutors said on Sunday.

The 21-year-old maid, KQ, could often be heard by neighbours screaming from pain and pleading for help, Dubai’s attorney general Essam Issa Al Humaidan said.

The neighbours said they could also hear the defendant, SB, 35, whose nationality was not given, screaming and cursing at the maid.

One of the victim’s relatives said in her testimony that the Asian maid was often beaten with a stick and had been punched several times on different parts of her body. The defendant had also banged the woman’s head against the wall and never provided any medical assistance, which eventually led to the maid’s death, said prosecutors.

The forensics report confirmed that KQ’s death was a result of constant beating, which is considered torture, and a the lack of treatment.

The beatings took place at a residence in Deira, though details of when it occurred were not available.