UAE: Housemaid on death row pardoned by victims’ family
She had murdered housewife and set fire to apartment, resulting in death of her child
Ras Al Khaimah: A housemaid in Ras Al Khaimah sentenced to death for fatally stabbing her employer has been pardoned by the victim’s family after 14 years.
The Court of Cassation has commuted her sentence to 15 years in prison, 14 of which she has served while on death row.
The case goes back to 2010, when the maid, only identified as “S”, arrived from Africa to work for the family in Ras Al Khaimah. Two weeks into her employment, she murdered the housewife and set the apartment on fire, resulting in the death of the woman’s one-year-old child.
What happened?
One day, while cutting onions at the kitchen sink, the housewife repeatedly poked the maid’s shoulder. She turned around and stabbed her 17 times, killing her. She then stole a bag of money and jewellery from the victim.
To conceal her crime, she set fire to the apartment, where the child was sleeping. The child died in the fire.
After the fire, investigators discovered stab wounds on the mother’s body. This evidence shifted the police’s focus to a murder case, indicating that the fire was an attempt by the perpetrator to conceal the crime. A search led to the arrest of the suspect, who had fled to her friend’s house in another emirate.
During the investigation, the accused claimed that the victim poked her several times in the shoulder while she was cooking, which enraged her and prompted her to stab her. She also set the apartment on fire, aware that the sleeping child was inside, to hide the traces of her crime before her escape.
She was referred to the Public Prosecution on charges of premeditated murder and arson. She was brought before the court, which sentenced her to death.
Despite multiple attempts to appeal from prison, all her efforts failed, resulting in 14 years of waiting for execution. During the time, she embraced Islam, mastered tailoring and demonstrated good behaviour with everyone.
Eventually, with a lawyer’s help, she reached out to the Court of Cassation and after persistent efforts persuaded the victims’ family to drop the charges in exchange for Dh700,000 in “blood money” as compensation. The Court then commuted her sentence to 15 years in prison.
