Abu Dhabi judicial panel to probe infant’s death

Abu Dhabi: A four-month baby died on Sunday amid suspicions that she had been subjected to physical abuse by her housemaid, who has been charged with beating her.

Given the circumstances surrounding the case, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has announced the setting up of a three-member committee comprising forensics experts to look into baby Malak’s death. The committee has been instructed to determine the cause of Malak’s death in order to assess whether it should be treated as a criminal case.

Surveillance camera footage taken from the child’s room shows the housemaid picking up Malak from her crib and returning her to it within minutes. The domestic worker admitted she was responsible for Malak’s injuries but maintained that they were sustained when the baby accidentally fell from her arms.

Reports indicated that Malak’s mother was at her workplace at the time while her father was away on an overseas business trip. The nanny entrusted Malak’s care was in the restroom and that her grandmother, who is not keeping good health, was in her own room in the house. Malak reportedly has an older brother aged four.

Sources told Gulf News that tension between the Indonesian domestic worker and the Filipina nanny may have led to the child being harmed.

Prior to her death, Malak was being treated at a local hospital for brain damage and was reported to be in a coma.