Unwed mother accused of trying to sell her baby

A woman is accused of attempting to sell her baby girl, who was born out of wedlock, in return for Dh10,000.

Dubai Criminal Court records show that two weeks after the Ethiopian woman, 30, gave birth, she asked for the help of another Ethiopian woman, 28, to sell the child.

An Emirati police officer, 26, told the court that the criminal investigations department received information about the defendant trying to sell her child with the help of the second defendant.

An Emirati woman, 43, reported the incident in August last year after her cousin told her that he might be the father of the child and that the mother was trying to get rid of the baby.

“He called me and said the Ethiopian, who used to work as a maid, had given birth and that he was not sure that he was the father but he feared for the infant’s life,” the Emirati woman said. “So I called him later and asked him to be honest. He then said the defendant told him he was the father.”

The Emirati housewife called the defendant and told her that she knew about the baby and that she would like to take her and raise her as her own.

“We then met in Ajman. The other woman was with her, and I took the child to a clinic to make sure she was well. When we got back to the car, she asked me for Dh10,000 in return for the child,” the Emirati said.

She refused to buy the child, after which the defendant took the baby and left.

The Emirati informed the police, and an officer was sent undercover to pose as a buyer.

“Both defendants agreed to meet the police officer in the car park of Al Bustan shopping mall in Dubai on September 19 last year,” said a police officer. During the meeting, the defendants asked for more than Dh10,000.

“The officer told them that it was not the agreement they had on the phone, so the defendant told her she needed the money,” the officer said.

The women were arrested as they took the money from the officer. In court, both denied a human trafficking charge.

The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.