Dubai: A housemaid and a gardener have been accused of coercing three children under seven to perform bizarre pornographic activities and threatening them with torture using matchsticks.

The 35-year-old Filipina housemaid, M.A., and 39-year-old Pakistani gardener, A.A., have been charged with sexually abusing the three Emirati children, two sisters and their brother, on different occasions.

Chief Prosecutor Ahmad Mohammad Al Hammadi, of Bur Dubai Prosecution, accused the defendants of sexually molesting the children in September 2012. He has asked for the implementation of the toughest punishment applicable.

Prison wardens did not bring M.A. from her detention to produce her before the Dubai Court of First Instance where she was scheduled to be tried on Tuesday.

The presiding judge adjourned the hearing to February 10 until a lawyer is appointed to defend the suspects.

Prosecution records said the mother discovered the alleged abused of her children by “coincidence”.

Records cited the six-year-old boy claiming to his mother that M.A. threatened to burn him with matchsticks if he refused to sleep with his sisters (aged seven and one).

The boy and his seven-year-old sister alleged that the defendants coerced them to grope each other and perform indecent and inappropriate acts on each other, according to prosecution records.

According to her statement, the mother claimed that M.A. abused the children and exploited them sexually to make profit.

In her testimony, she said: “The matter was coincidentally exposed when my sister-in-law informed me that her housemaid had a photo of my one-year-old daughter on her mobile phone. M.A. admitted that she took the photo… I asked her to erase the photo. My suspicions grew wild when she panicked and seemed terrified because I asked to inspect her phone. When she didn’t give me her mobile phone, I suspected that she must have been molesting my boy. My six-year-old stunned me when he alleged that the suspects molested him and his sisters. He claimed that M.A. and A.A. threatened him and his elder sister to burn them with matchsticks and forced them to do indecent stuff together before the defendants slept with each other.”

The Emirati family immediately alerted the police and the two defendants were arrested.

The trial continues.