Dubai: A maid lost her appeal on Sunday and will spend life in prison for killing her illegitimate baby and throwing him in a garbage skip just after birth.
The 32-year-old Indonesian woman, S.S., decided to get rid of her newborn whom she had conceived out of wedlock and threw him in a garbage bin shortly after she delivered him.
In her defence argument before the Dubai Appeal Court, the mother admitted that she had thrown away the newborn but contended that she had no intention of killing him.
In February, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed S.S. for life for intentionally killing her son in February 2015.
On Sunday, presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif rejected the convict’s appeal for a reduced punishment and upheld her life sentence.
According to the appellate ruling, the mother also has to spend an extra year in jail for having sex outside marriage with an Asian man that led to her pregnancy in 2014.
She will be deported following the completion of her punishment, said presiding judge Al Sharif.
Following an unsuccessful abortion bid, according to court records, the accused delivered the baby and then wrapped him in cloth, put him a garbage bag and threw him away.
Two cleaners discovered the baby in the garbage skip while the newborn was still breathing and they called the police to Al Barsha area.
The woman claimed in court that she just wanted to get rid of the baby, and that she had no intention to kill him. Dubai Police’s forensic examination report confirmed that the newborn was killed and did not die of natural causes.
One of the Indian cleaners, who found the baby, said he and his colleague heard a whining sound while emptying the garbage skip at 11.30pm.
“Firstly, we thought it was an injured animal but when we removed the cover, we found the newborn who was still breathing. We called the police instantly,” he testified.
A police lieutenant said primary interrogations revealed that S.S. had thrown away the newborn.
“The baby died shortly after being rushed to a hospital. Upon questioning, S.S. confessed that she became pregnant following an affair that she had with the Asian man in his flat in Satwa. She said the first time she drank an energy drink and took it with Panadol but her bid to get rid of her baby failed. She delivered the baby in her Saudi sponsor’s washroom. S.S. said the umbilical cord got disconnected on its own … then she wrapped the boy and beat him before putting his body in a bag and then throwing him in the garbage skip,” said the lieutenant.
The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.
