Inheritance row in Fujairah exposes adoption fraud case

Fujairah: Three Indian nationals were jailed by the Fujairah Criminal Court after an inheritance dispute uncovered an eight-year-old case of fraud, inspired by an apparent act of humanity.

A man and two women were each sentenced to a year in prison after the court convicted them of helping to obtain government documents relating to the true identity of a child through fraudulent means.

The story goes back to eight years ago when A.H., and A.A., a husband and wife, were both unemployed and living in Dibba with the sister of the first suspect, A.H., who was married to an Emirati, A.S., who has since died.

According to court records, when the Indian couple discovered they were expecting a child, and due to their unemployment and difficult financial status, the couple decided to seek an abortion.

According to records, the deceased Emirati, A.S., the brother-in-law of the first suspect, intervened by convincing the couple not to abort the pregnancy, promising he would raise the child as his own.

After giving birth in Dibba Al Bay'a, an Omani territory bordering Dibba Al Fujairah, A.S., with the assistance of the other three suspects, took out a birth-certificate and new passport for the baby boy, Kh. After the death of A.S., the rest of his family contested the child's right to inheritance and decided to file a complaint to the police who soon discovered the plot.