29 February 2008

Couple pleads not guilty to molesting ‘adopted’ daughter

A 53-year-old Emirati A.S.,and his wife M.K., 46, have in the Court of First Instance pleaded not guilty to the charge of molesting their adopted seven-year-old daughter.

However, in the same case, the couple, along with an Emirati housewife, M.B., 30, and an unemployed Iranian, M.A., 30, have pleaded guilty to forging a document relating to their ‘adopted’ daughter.

The Public Prosecution alleged that from February 7, 2001 to July 2, 2007, all the four accused were involved in forging several other official documents, including the minor girl’s birth certificate.

The Emirati couple A.S. and M.K. had alleged that the latter was their own daughter.

M.K. admitted that more than seven years ago she met Iranian M.A. through M.B.

She alleged that since M.A. was pregnant following an “illicit relationship,” she had struck a deal with M.A. to ‘adopt’ the child for Dh15,000 if it was a girl.

“I and my husband along with the biological mother forged the birth certificate of the child at the Dubai Hospital. We handed the hospital two photocopies of our passports. My husband signed on the birth certificate stating that the child was ours. Accordingly, we managed to secure a UAE passport issued for the infant girl mentioning us as her parents.”

During investigations carried out by the Public Prosecution, witness L.S., a housewife from Seychelles, said, “I was very close to the baby girl and was shocked when she told me in June 2007 that her father A.S. was molesting her.

The court has set March 13 for the next hearing. Source

No comments: