Parents seek death for maid who killed baby
sharjah — The Sharjah Shariah Court adjourned the case of the Indonesian maid for torturing her employer’s nine-month-old daughter to death.
Parents of Salama told the presiding judge of Sharjah Shariah Court that they wanted Qasas (retributive justice according to Islamic law) against the maid for killing their baby. The father of the child also confirmed his family’s desire to impose a strict penalty against the maid. The judge told the maid about the decision of the family and advised her to see if she can convince the family to pardon her.
According to the prosecution the maid had beaten up the girl intentionally and then pushed her on the floor. Then she hit her head with a bat used to kill house flies. The girl sustained fractures on her skull and later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. The severely assaulted baby who was suffering from breathing difficulties, was referred to Al Qassimi Hospital. The doctors conducted necessary medical tests, which revealed internal bleeding in her head and a swollen-fractured skull. The girl died after her admission at the ICU.
Noaf Abdulla, lawyer of the accused urged the presiding judge Hussain Al Ousofi to call forensic medicine experts to investigate the cause of death of the girl and inspect the fingerprints on the bat and if it matched with those of the accused. Abdulla also requested to check the medical report issued by Rashid Hospital to see if the baby died after being hit by the bat.
She also demanded the police official who interrogated the accused to testify in court as the maid denied that she confessed to the crime during the police interrogation.
‘I never had problem with maid’
During previous court hearing, the baby’s mother, H. J, said that she never had any problem with the maid. H.J. said that on the day of the incident she left home and the baby in a good condition. When she returned after half an hour, she noticed that the baby was not in a good condition and then it fell unconscious. She did not notice that the baby was beaten and learnt about this only after reaching the hospital.
Although the maid had previously admitted telling the mother that she had abused the girl, she later denied the accusations. The maid rejected the testimonies of the mother and said that her only responsibility was to feed the baby and take care of her.
The victim’s father told Khaleej Times earlier that the doctor who noticed bruises and fractures in the skull had told him about the possibility of torture. The father then lodged a complaint at the Wasit Police Station.
He also told they have installed surveillance cameras in the house except the bedrooms. He alleged that the maid who found cameras everywhere used to hit the girl in a room where there was no camera.