A housemaid in Dubai has been jailed for life for murdering the 11-month-old daughter of her British employer.
Dubai
Criminal Court found the 29-year-old Indian woman guilty of strangling
the girl by wrapping a scarf around her neck after gagging her to stifle
her cries.
After
initially confessing the crime to prosecutors, the nanny switched her
plea to not guilty to premeditated murder saying she loved the girl
‘like her own children’.
Trial: The 30-year-old Indian nanny is
accused of strangling the 11-month-old baby girl with a scarf in their
Dubai home as an act of revenge on her British employer when she was not
allowed holiday (stock image)
She said that following her arrest she suffered torture while in custody and made her confession under duress.
But
the court decided that she had in fact killed the child out of anger at
her employers for not giving her time off to go to her mother's
funeral.
The
maid's mother had died a month before the murder. But her employers, who
were unable to get time off work, told her to delay her trip until her
residency documents for staying in the United Arab Emirates were
completed.
The
prosecution alleged that after being refused time off, the maid killed
the baby to ensure she would not be needed for childcare duties and
would therefore be allowed to travel.
On
January 18 the maid waited for her sponsors to leave their Al Nahda,
Sharjah, home for work at 10am. She then wrapped the scarf around the
baby's neck, strangling her.
The
court hear that the maid continued with her chores as the child lay
dying. The victim's aunt told the court in May how the maid had called
her to say the baby was not waking up and had breathing difficulties.
The
aunt had called her sister and rushed to the home, where she found the
girl unresponsive. 'I tried to wake her up, calling her name, but she
did not respond,' she told the court in May, according to The National.
Pleading: The babysitter told
presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat at Dubai Court of First Instance that
she had loved the 11-month-old 'like her own'
Doctors
at Zelukha hospital in Dubai reported the matter to police, suspecting
foul play. A post-mortem examination found a bruise around the child's
neck from a tightened scarf. It also found bruising around her mouth
that indicated she had been gagged to stop her from crying out.
The
36-year-old mother of the baby, who is also originally from India but
who holds a British passport, told a previous hearing of her
relationship with the nanny.
The mother said: 'We treated her so well, she was like a sister to me, we ate on the same table.'
Her
husband, who has asked for the death penalty added: 'We celebrated her
birthday and took her out for an ice-cream treat after we bought her
some gifts.
'I
often told her that I would pay for whatever her children need back in
India and I was even looking for a job for her husband to bring him here
so they can be together.'
The verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
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