Man in jail unable to pay wife's blood money

Dubai: A man whose wife died in an accident involving a car he was driving has been in jail for more than a year after failing to pay ‘blood money' to his wife's family and his children.

Abdullah, formerly Joseph Aboutan, a Filipino father of three, has been ordered by a court to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to his own children and to the wife's family. The Filipino was sentenced to one month in jail and he served the term a year ago.

According to UAE law, the father will not be released until he pays the blood money.

Aboutan, who is in police custody at Al Aweer Central Jail, said he is poor and will not be able to pay the blood money even if he spends all his life in jail.

Aboutan, who embraced Islam in jail and took Abdullah as his new name, said what had happened is his destiny.

"The jail authority is helping me to change my name and my religion officially in the passport," he said.

"I will fast during the holy month of Ramadan," he said.

"Here in jail I embraced Islam and I learn a lot about Islam. I feel sorry for what happened to me, my wife and my three little kids but I am happy for becoming a Muslim," the 35-year-old said.

He said he is happy with his new name and is learning Arabic at the school in the jail. "I will learn to read Quran," he said.

Earning money

Abdullah said he has earned some money in jail by washing the clothes of fellow prisoners who in return give him phone cards and food.

"People are kind in the jail but I wish I could go back to my family," he said

Last year the Traffic Court of First Instance found Abdullah guilty of causing the death of his wife.

"We are poor people and I came here about two years ago to work and help raise my three kids," he said.

Family in need

"I have no clue what to do. I loved my wife more than my life. She was an adorable woman. I want to go home to my children and my family. I need help," he said

Abdullah, who worked for a private company in Dubai, is the father of three young children, two boys aged 14 and 13 and a 11-year-old girl, who are now staying with his mother-in-law in the Philippines.

"My two boys are till now refusing to talk to me because of what happened to their mother, but my daughter is the only one to talk to me and she understands my situation," he said.

He said his daughter is waiting for him to come back to them.

"It is impossible for me to pay such an amount. I am desperate and I miss my children a lot. I called my children to tell them I am sorry for the loss of their mother," he said.

Abdullah recalls the day when his wife, who was on a visit here, was sitting next to him when his car hit a lamp-post and overturned. He was arrested and taken to jail and his wife Imelda, 34, was admitted to hospital with serious injuries.

He said he never saw his wife after the accident as he was in jail and she was in the intensive care unit at Rashid Hospital. She died in hospital 25 days after the accident.