Sex worker on trial for abortion

Dubai: An 18-year-old prostitute has admitted using pills to abort her foetus, which was found by police sniff dogs after a female compatriot buried it in a shoebox in the desert.

A 26-year-old UAE national employee informed police that he took the sex worker's compatriot to the desert where she buried the baby. Police dogs sniffed out the foetus less than one day after it was buried in a deserted area behind Mall of the Emirates.

The Russian sex worker, D.S., confessed before the Dubai Court of First Instance to working in the sex industry and admitted using medical pills to illegally abort her 7-month-old foetus.

Following her confession, the girl covered her tearful eyes with her hands. The Public Prosecution charged her with prostitution and illegally aborting her baby with the assistance of two female compatriots.

The UAE witness said in his statement: "One of the women phoned me one evening and asked me to meet her under her building for an urgent matter. When I called her to check why she was late, I coincidentally heard the sound of a woman in pain. The woman was crying and seemed to be in a hysterical situation."

He testified that he drove her compatriot to Al Khail Road, but she asked him to take her to an unpopulated area.

"I was completely shocked when she opened up the shoebox, showed me the foetus which was wrapped with a cloth. She disappeared for ten minutes to bury the baby after I refused to do it. Then she informed me that the defendant was the biological mother of the foetus, which D.S. carried before coming to Dubai. She claimed that the 18-year-old bought nine medical pills from a Russian doctor and aborted the baby. I failed to convince her to inform the police," testified the employee.

A police officer said D.S. and nine other suspects were arrested in a flat in Mankhoul for allegedly working in the sex industry. He said the suspect informed him that she did was not aware how her compatriot got rid of the baby.

A verdict will be heard later this month.