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Woman gets jail term for trying to sell newborn baby for Dh8,500

DUBAI — A woman, charged with human trafficking, after she was caught trying to sell a baby for Dh8,500 was on Sunday pronounced guilty by the Court of First Instance and was sentenced to three years in prison. The court also ordered that the 24-year-old Indonesian woman, who worked as a cook, be deported upon the completion of her term.

Earlier, the woman had denied in the court that she had surreptitiously tried to sell another woman’s newborn baby boy to undercover police officers for Dh8,500 in October last year.

She claimed that she had only wanted to give the baby away for adoption, with the consent of his biological mother. She denied having asked for any money in exchange.

However, according to court records, the cook had initially offered the baby for Dh10,000 before settling for Dh8,500. She told the baby’s biological mother that the baby was being given away to an Emirati family for adoption.

A woman sergeant from the Anti-Organised Crime Department’s Human Trafficking Section told the prosecutors that on October 30 last year she had received a telephone call regarding the case. She added, “I was informed that the defendant was about to sell a newborn (baby boy) for Dh10,000. I was given her number.”

The sergeant said that the cook had initially asked for this amount but, following some negotiations, had settled for Dh 8,500 when they met in the Jumeirah 1 area.

“When she got into our car, she asked us not to tell the woman (the baby boy’s real mother) who would bring the baby, about the money the defendant had asked for. She wanted us to take the baby, wait until the woman leaves and then give her the money,” the sergeant added. The arrest of the two women followed shortly afterward.

When questioned by the police officers, the cook claimed that she had met the baby’s mother and alleged that the latter had had an illegitimate child. The cook added that the baby’s mother did not have any official documents for the baby but wanted to leave the country.

The defendant then suggested to the mother that she give away the baby for adoption to a local family. The baby’s mother, according to court records, approved of the idea but was not aware that the defendant wanted to also make some money for herself.

The case registered against the baby’s mother (whose DNA link with the baby has been matched and confirmed) was handled by the Naturalisation and Residency Prosecution.

mary@khaleejtimes.com