Dubai: A man and his girlfriend, who allegedly tortured the man’s daughter to death, claimed they were suffering from psychological problems when they appeared in the Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
The two will be referred to a panel of three psychologists to assess their mental condition, the court decided.
The man, H.S., and and the woman, U.A., were charged with imprisoning the man’s two daughters, physical abuse leading to permanent disablement and burying a corpse without permission.
The case was adjourned until July 25 to enable the judges to view the panel’s report, summon witnesses and give their lawyers time to prepare their arguments.
The first suspect presented to court his medical record which shows that he had psychological problems and was undergoing treatment at a centre in Dubai for depression and other problems. The suspect said his file is also available at the Dubai Police General Anti-Narcotics department.
The second suspect claimed she has a mental disease, which makes her unfocused, unaware of her acts and lacking control.
She said she was never seen by a psychologist before.
In the court’s referral order, it asked the panel to determine whether the two were suffering from mental or psychological disorders, the nature of these problems and how they affect their awareness and acts, and whether they were suffering from them during the six months prior to the discovery of the crime.
During their first appearance before the court earlier, the first suspect denied that he tortured his daughter to death, while his pregnant partner, U.A., confessed to the charges.
The crime was discovered by the man’s brother, who went to check on the girls after their father failed to respond to repeated calls. He found the first girl, Wadeema, missing and the second, Mira, told him that her sister was killed and buried by their father and his girlfriend.