Woman and lover get suspended sentence

A housewife who claimed she slept with an engineer because her husband left her 'uncared for and lacking romance' has been given, together with her lover, a suspended punishment.

The Dubai Court of First Instance awarded the UAE national housewife and the Jordanian engineer a four-month suspended jail term after they were found guilty of having an illicit affair yesterday.

The imprisonment will be suspended for three years since it becomes final, on the condition that the crime is not repeated. The engineer will be deported for trespassing into the villa of the woman's husband.

The Public Prosecution charged them with having consensual sex. The engineer was charged with trespassing and the housewife was charged with inviting him into the villa without her husband's consent.

"I slept with him because of my marital problems. My husband's negligence and emotional vacuum were the main reasons behind my love for the other defendant. I regret what I did as I think of my children's future," she said in her statement. Gulf News learnt that the husband divorced his wife. The initial verdict is still subject to appeal.