ABU DHABI // A woman accused of burning her nine year old son with a hot iron told a court she was being framed by a jealous ex-husband.
The boy's injuries were caused by a chemical substance that spilt as her neighbours were moving in, she told the Criminal Court.
AA, 29, from Yemen, was accused after her ex-husband saw scars on the boy's arm during a custodial meeting scheduled as part of their divorce settlement. The ex-husband claims that the boy implicated his mother.
But the woman told the Criminal Court yesterday that her son was injured while playing outside. She said that new neighbours had been moving in and that they were carrying a chemical substance which split on to her son. She said this caused the burns, which were very minor.
She presented a document from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City detailing the injuries in English. The court asked her to translate it to Arabic and to bring it to the next hearing.
She told the court she was a mother and that there was no way she would hurt her son. "His father just wants to take custody so he made this whole story up," she added.
A forensics medical report conducted on March 21 found that the burn had gone deep into the skin, leaving a scar that was still visible six months later. It said the scar was permanent and estimated it as constituting a 15 per cent disability for the purposes of compensation.
The son and his father failed to attend the hearing yesterday. The cleric said the court had been unable to contact them to notify them to attend.
The case was adjourned until July 18.
hdajani@thenational.ae
