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UAE: Housemaid to die for killing infant

An Indonesian housemaid who brutally killed a 4-month-old daughter of her employer by smashing her head against a table's edge has been convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to death.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, on Monday, handed down the death penalty to the domestic helper according to the Shariah law, and after the parents of the victim insisted in retribution and refused to pardon the maid.

The incident took place before midnight of April 28 this year. The housemaid hit the baby girl's head with a solid object, causing her skull to fracture and leading to brain hemorrhage and her eventual death.

The horrific incident sent shock waves among the UAE society and was widely covered by the local media. According to court records, the accused smashed the baby's head with a solid object that caused her skull to fracture and brain hemorrhage, as she was jealous of the girl's nanny.

The CCTV cameras in the house captured the accused carrying the girl away from the cameras, and returning her to her cot in 4 minutes.

On interrogation, the housemaid confessed before the Public Prosecution officer that she was responsible for the incident, claiming that the girl had fallen from her hands.

But, in the dock, she admitted to the court that she had treated the victim violently when she hit her head with the edge of the table with the intent to hurt and heap the blame and damage on the nanny whom she bore a grudge.

"When I hit the head of the baby, I did not see the child, but rather saw she was striking the head of the nanny, on whom she wanted to take revenge," the maid told the court.

The Public Prosecution called on the court to hand down the severest punishment to the convict, to serve as a deterrent to whoever intends to kill innocent people.

The court also heard the plea of the defence lawyer, who asked for her acquittal and requested it to let her be examined by a psychiatrist to find out whether her mental powers were intact. The court, however, was convinced that the convict was mentally sound and had no any mental or psychological ailments, and sentenced her to death.

Source: Khaleej Times, September 24, 2013
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