Abu Dhabi: An Arab man has been sentenced to death for murdering his wife and her unborn child, the Court of Cassation ruled today.
The defendant is also required to pay Dh10,000 to his wife’s family in blood money for the child.
Upon being asked by the judge responsible for ruling on inheritance money whether he had committed the crime, the defendant confessed to the murder. This exempts him from receiving any of his wife’s money.
The Court of Appeals had previously sentenced the man to 10 years in prison but the Court of Cassation overruled the verdict.
The death penalty was also given because the deceased’s family insisted on punishment for the husband and not blood money or forgiveness.
The incident took place when an argument broke out between the couple over whether the defendant was the child’s biological father and his wife’s refusal to abort the foetus.
The suspect’s brother-in-law was called from abroad to resolve the dispute but the victim insisted on keeping the child and asked for a divorce.
On the day of the crime, the defendant stabbed his wife to death and stole his brother-in-law’s mobile phone and vehicle before heading to the airport.
The man abandoned the vehicle in Bani Yas and took a taxi to the airport and left the country.
After the victim’s body was found by her brother, the defendant was apprehended at the Bahrain airport and charged.
