UAE mother who strangled baby says she thought child was stillborn

Woman convicted of strangling her baby with her underwear tells Appeals Court she did not know it was born alive.

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ABU DHABI // A mother sentenced to life in prison for strangling her baby to death with her underwear told the Appeals Court she thought the child was stillborn.

Investigators found the newborn boy in a plastic bag inside the woman's closet with an item of underwear tied so tightly around his neck it needed to be cut off with scissors.

The mother, a Filipina, claimed the baby was stillborn and that she had put him in the bag so she could take it back to the Philippines and show the father.

"Are you upset about the baby or the underwear?" asked the judge.

The case was adjourned until September 23 while a defence lawyer is appointed.

hdajani@thenational.ae