UAE: FAMILY OF MURDERED MAID ACCEPT BLOOD MONEY OVER DEATH SENTENCE

May 25, 2015: The family of an Ethiopian maid tortured to death by her employers has spared her killers the death sentence.
An official letter stating the relatives’ decision to accept blood money instead of a death sentence reached Abu Dhabi Criminal Court on May 25.
MA and his wife RY, both from Palestine, tricked the maid into working with them for free, locked her inside the house, and beat her a number of times, prosecutors said.
The couple had also placed bars against the windows to prevent her escaping.
Neighbours who testified said they constantly heard horrific screams from the couple’s apartment.
Prosecution lawyers previously said that on the day of the death, a fight broke out between the wife and the maid.
She assaulted the maid so severely with a cane that she died.
Then the husband poured a chemical on her body in a bid to hide her identity. He wrapped the body in white fabric, placed it in a suitcase and put it in the boot of their car.
That night they drove to the Al Ajban desert in Abu Dhabi to dispose of the body. It was not clear from records why the fight broke out or when this happened.
Despite the body being badly burned by the chemicals, officers were able to discover the identity of the victim, which led them to the couple.
MA and RY blamed each other for the maid’s death previously at the Criminal Court. RY said on the day of the death the maid slipped on the soapy bathroom floor and could not get up.
When her husband arrived he thought she was faking it so he started beating the maid’s legs severely with a gas pipe.
No one was on good terms with the couple because they caused many problems, a female neighbour added.
A verdict will be announced on June 30. (Sources: thenational.ae, 25/05/2015)