Dubai: A maid and a housekeeper have been accused of stealing Dh181,000 worth of cash, valuables and electronic devices from their woman sponsor when the latter had gone out for swimming at the beach.
The 24-year-old Ethiopian maid, S.T., and her 29-year-old countrywoman housekeeper, V.B., were said to have stolen their Kazakh sponsor’s valuable wristwatches, phones, an iPad and cash in April.
Prosecutors accused S.T. and V.B. of theft.
The two women pleaded not guilty in the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the Ethiopian suspects stole two wristwatches worth Dh75,000 and Dh90,000, Dh12,000 in cash, two mobiles and an iPad.
“I only took Dh5,000 in cash because my sponsor had not paid me my salary for a few months. I did not steal the watches or the phones but she was the one who kept them with me when she went out … and she complained to the police that I had stolen them. I did not steal anything … I gave them to the police,” S.T. argued before presiding judge Urfan Omar.
V.B. also pleaded not guilty and contended that the allegations were unfounded.
The Kazakh sponsor claimed to prosecutors that the incident happened when she and her friend went to spend their day at the beach at Palm Jumeirah.
“My friend and I returned to my residence after two hours … the maid was not present. I could not find her when I searched for her in the house. I realised that she had absconded immediately after I discovered that she had robbed me. She also stole my friend’s belongings and some clothes as well,” she claimed.
The Azerbaijani friend testified to prosecutors that the maid’s mobile was switched off when they tried to call her after the incident.
“Meanwhile, the housekeeper did not respond when we called her as well. We communicated with her on WhatsApp and informed her about the robbery and asked if she had seen S.T. … but V.B. claimed that she had not seen her and had no clue about the theft,” the friend claimed.
A ruling will be heard on August 11.
