Dubai: A woman and a man, who claims to be her husband, were accused of having sex out of wedlock after she was rushed to a hospital and it was discovered that she had ectopic pregnancy.
The 28-year-old Filipina woman was said to have suffered pregnancy pains before she called an ambulance and was rushed to the hospital to be informed that she had ectopic pregnancy in December.
Following medical check-ups, the 28-year-old was asked about her husband [the baby’s father] and she told the medical staff that she was not married but was engaged, said records.
Medical reports confirmed that the foetus had died by the time she was taken to the hospital.
The hospital notified the police about the matter and the woman’s 27-year-old Filipino partner was taken into custody while the woman remained hospitalised.
Prosecutors accused the Filipino couple of having sex out of wedlock.
Appeal
In April, the Dubai Misdemeanours Court convicted the couple and sentenced them to three months in jail followed by deportation.
The couple appealed their primary ruling and pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Dubai Court of Appeals.
The couple told presiding judge Adnan Al Farra that they were married at the time when the incident happened and that they did not have an illicit affair.
Their lawyer, Eisa Bin Haider, argued: “The suspects were arrested for having unmarried sex … this is a baseless and unfounded accusation. My clients did not have sex out of wedlock, on the contrary, they were married at the time when this happened. They need some time to notarise their marriage contract [which happened in the Philippines] before they submit a copy of it to court.”
Lawyer Bin Haider handed presiding judge Al Farra a photocopy of a marriage notification and asked for an adjournment until his clients produce a notarised marriage contract.
In her statement before prosecutors, the Filipina testified that she had known her countryman for more than eight years.
“We hail from the same province in our homeland. He is the first man in my life. A few days prior to the incident, I realised that I was pregnant … on the day of the incident, I suffered labour pains. I was rushed to the hospital where doctors told me that it was an ectopic pregnancy. They had to operate on me,” she claimed.
The Filipino told prosecutors that they had known each other for eight years and that she lived with him in his residence at Dubai Gardens.
“She felt severe pains at 10.30am and called for an ambulance … there she was told about the ectopic pregnancy and that the foetus was dead,” said the male suspect.
The trial continues.
