Relatives of maid tortured to death accept blood money

February 27, 2012, UAE (7 Days in Dubai) — Relatives of a maid who was tortured to death have accepted blood money from the woman accused of killing her. The Ethiopian died last year.

Her Emirati employer is accused of beating her up and pouring boiling water over her body. The maid’s aunt, who is representing the dead woman’s parents in Ethiopia, told Abu Dhabi Criminal Court on Monday that the family had waived their rights to death penalty and decided to accept blood money of Dhs200,000 from the defendant if the court finds her guilty.

“Her parents wanted very much to know how their daughter died before they could come up with a decision,” she told the court, adding that the family were devastated by the death of their daughter and the way she was killed.

The Emirati woman denied killing the housemaid at a previous hearing but admitted beating her to make her a better cleaner.

“I only beat her up. I just wanted her to do the housework properly,” she said. “I didn’t mean to hurt or kill her.” Prosecutors said the maid was found dead in the bathroom at her employer’s home. A forensic report revealed that the woman died from wounds she sustained during an assault.

The Emirati defendant’s two children told prosecutors that they witnessed their mother torturing the housemaid on a daily basis. Her daughter said: “One day, during Ramadan, I found my mother beating up the maid. She poured boiling water on her body and threw pepper in her eyes.”

She said the incident took place just a few days before the maid died. Prosecutors charged the Emirati boss with assault leading to death and demanded for a death penalty is she is convicted.

The criminal court judge said that the woman is currently receiving a psychiatric treatment. The case was adjourned to March 25.

Source –7 Days in Dubai

Background:

Ethiopian maid tortured to death in UAE

(Nov. 17, 2012) An Ethiopian maid who was beaten, tortured and scalded with boiling water while tied with electrical wire died of the horrific injuries as a result of the inhuman abuse she suffered at the hands of her employer, UEA’s The National newspaper reported.

The Emarati women who allegedly committed the crime appeared in court last Monday and denied intending to kill the maid. She admitted torturing the Ethiopian national she employed as a maid. “I was angry,” she told judges.

But her own daughter testified that her mother whipped the maid daily and rubbed pepper into her eyes after she moved in during Ramadan.

Doctors concluded that her death was attributable to several burns all over her body that had become infected. Her eyes showed evidence of bleeding from the torture, which had taken place over “several periods” of time, the medical report says.

The woman told the court that she only whipped the maid because the maid was lazy. She was arrested after her son reported the death of the maid to the police. It was reported that she also had reportedly asked her daughters to wear gloves and remove her bloody clothes.