Dubai: A housewife, who ran an unlicensed babysitting service at her flat, has been found liable for the death of a two-year-old girl after she fell from a sofa.
The 31-year-old Pakistani housewife, A.M., was running babysitting services at her flat at Dubai International City when the incident occurred and the girl fell from a sofa and died in July.
The Dubai Court of First Instance handed A.M. a one-year suspended imprisonment after she was convicted of risking the girl’s life and being responsible for her death.
The girl’s parents read a babysitting advertisement on Dubizzle, according to records, before they took their daughter to A.M. to take care of her while they went to work.
The defendant left the child unattended for a few minutes when she went to bring her water before the girl fell from the sofa.
Despite having entered a not guilty plea, the defendant was found liable for the girl’s death.
Presiding judge Urfan Omar said the convict will have to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the victim’s parents.
Dubai Police’s forensic examination report said the girl’s fall caused a haemorrhage and other complications, leading to her death.
The girl’s Moroccan mother testified that the incident happened after they read the suspect’s advertisement on Dubizzle offering hourly babysitting services.
“She told me over the phone that she babysits children at her flat for Dh650 per month. When I visited her flat to check it, I saw a number of kids there and the place was neat and had a play area. She told me that her flat was not licensed by the authorities to cater to babysitting services and that it was her private business. I agreed to bring my girl the next day from 7am to 3pm … I took my child to the defendant’s place twice in July. She told me that she babysits four children at a time. On the day of the incident, she forwarded me images on WhatsApp and my daughter seemed all right by 11am. At 3pm my husband and I were heading to pick up our daughter … A.M. phoned us thrice and told us to rush to her flat because our daughter was not feeling well. When we reached the place, my daughter was breathing with obvious difficulty and her eyes were closed. Her lips were pale and once she opened her eyes she called me ‘mummy’. She had a bruise on her forehead. We went to a nearby clinic where she was given oxygen.
“Then they called an ambulance that rushed our daughter to a hospital. When I asked the accused what happened, she told me nothing had happened. When my daughter was admitted to hospital, her heart had stopped. Then when the doctor spoke to the defendant over the phone to know what had happened, A.M. informed her [the doctor] that she had fed her cake and milk and that she fell off the sofa 15 minutes before we arrived to pick her up. Later the suspect and her husband came to the hospital … she claimed that my daughter cried and so she put her on the sofa and went to get her water. She claimed that when she returned, she realised that my girl had fallen from the sofa. My girl bled from her nose, ears and mouth … attempts to medicate her and resuscitate her failed and she was pronounced dead at 3am,” testified the mother.
Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.