Dubai: A man faces five years in jail after a court convicted him Wednesday of beating his wife to death because she did not breastfeed their newborn baby.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 26-year-old Pakistani tailor, M.G., of beating to death his compatriot wife, A.F., — although he pleaded not guilty and said that she fell and died of her injuries.
Pronouncing the judgment, Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir said the accused, M.G., will be deported after serving the sentence.
"I did not beat her to death… she is my wife. She fell down on the floor and died. I am not guilty," argued the Pakistani when he defended himself in court.
The defendant's 28-year-old brother, M.N., told prosecutors that his brother told him that he beat his wife because she did not breastfeed the baby.
"When I went to pick my brother up, his baby was crying. When I asked him about his wife, he said he beat her with his hands and a plastic pipe until she fainted because she refused to breastfeed the baby," said M.N.
A Sudanese imam testified: "M.G. came at 6.20am and claimed his wife was paranoid and wasn't sleeping properly… we went to his house and I read for her verses from the Quran for nearly 15 minutes. She remained motionless. He claimed that he slapped her because she didn't breastfeed the baby."
