ABU DHABI // A housewife accused of smothering her maid to death claimed the woman went “crazy” when she heard her contract was being cancelled, a court has heard.
Emirati H A, accused of murdering her housemaid, said she thought the maid could have killed herself because she was always acting strangely.
“She was always upset and angry,” the sponsor told the Criminal Court last week. “She would scream at me sometimes and bang her head on the wall. She always seemed injured and I always caught her with bruises or bleeding cuts.”
The maid had been working with the family for more than two years.
The housewife said that when she told the maid she would be cancelling her contract, she began screaming and would not leave the bathroom.
Policeman F A said that about 5.30pm on the day, which was not specified by the court, he and his brother received a call from the defendant’s husband, who was not in the country.
“He told me his wife saw the maid pass out and asked me to go to his home and help her because his wife did not know how to handle the situation,” the officer said.
He said the wife seemed calm when they entered the house and that the maid’s face was swollen around the mouth and her lips were cracked.
His brother, S A, said that when they arrived at the house the wife directed them to the bathroom where the maid was.
“When the husband called he said the maid might have drunk Clorox [bleach]. We found her on the floor not moving and I suspected she was dead,” he said.
The brother said the smell of Clorox was very strong and the area looked washed and clean. The brothers called Civil Defence and within 10 minutes an ambulance arrived to take the maid away.
The defendant’s lawyer, Nashwa Al Qubaisi, said the bathroom was used for laundry and the smell of Clorox was normal.
“It is used in many households for cleaning,” Ms Al Qubaisi said. “My client said the maid uses Clorox all the time. The smell of it cannot be proof.”
Ms Al Qubaisi requested that the defendant’s neighbour appear at court, as well as the forensics expert who handled the case.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 20.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
