4-year-old’s torture death: 10-year jail for stepmom

An Arab housewife was on Wednesday sentenced to 10 years in jail for murdering her four-year-old stepdaughter after assaulting and torturing her. The 24-year-old accused, identified as A.Y.N., claimed that the victim died after she fell from her bicycle.

The Dubai Criminal Court convicted her of murder, and ordered her deportation after her jail term.

In February this year, the Dubai Police were notified by NMC Hospital that the little girl had died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. The girl’s stepmother had brought her to the hospital saying she fell from her bicycle while playing outside their house in Hor Al Anz area. The doctors tried reviving the little girl, but she died.

Forensic examination revealed that the girl had bruises and lacerations on her face, head and other parts of her body. It also revealed signs of torture.

During her interrogation, the suspect told the police that she took care of her husband’s three children from a previous marriage in addition to her own nine-month-old baby.

She claimed that on the fateful day, the little girl was playing outside with her brother when she fell off the bicycle and hit her head against a wall resulting in serious injuries. “She became unconscious and I tried to wake her up, but she didn’t. My neighbour advised me to rush her to the hospital,” she claimed in the investigation.

She denied torturing the girl though the forensic report proved otherwise.

A housemaid employed at the household testified that she had heard the victim screaming while the accused took her to the bathroom. The victim’s father testified that she had earlier complained to him that the accused tortured her.

salah@khaleejtimes.com