Maid confesses to pouring acid on three-year-old child
- Published in UAE
Sharjah: An Indonesian maid who poured drainage acid on the body of a three-year-old Emirati child has reportedly confessed to the crime. Sharjah Public prosecution said Thursday the maid admitted the attack on the little boy was premeditated.
The maid, in her 40s, has been arrested by the police.
Omar Yousif Al Wafi, the three-year-old boy suffered third-degree burns on different parts of his body and was taken to Al Qasimi hospital.
The incident took place ten days back, Amina, the sister of Omar’s adoptive mother, told Gulf News. The two sisters live in the same house in Sharjah’s Al Ramaqiyah area.
The baby who had been abandoned when he was four months old had been adopted by an Emirati family, said Amina, adding the boy was enrolled in KG1 when he was two.
Recalling the incident, Amina said Omar was playing with her 10-year-old son and during play used a colour pen to draw on his [Omar’s] face. The maid came to take Omar away to wash his face, led him inside the house and poured acid on his body. Hearing the screams of the child, the family rushed inside and were shocked to see black smoke rise from the boy’s body.
The maid claimed the boy himself had poured acid on his body.
According to Amina, the maid had been working with family for four years and had asked the family to extend her visa, but her visa was about to expire and she had only one month to complete her services. The family, said Amina, had always treated her well and had raised her salary recently from Dh700 to Dh1,000.
An official at Al Qasimi Hospital said the boy suffered third degree burns on his face, hands and legs and would require plastic surgery.
The boy’s family is in a state of shock, Amina said.
Yousuf Al Wafi, Amina’s husband, urged hospital authorities to issue official documents that would enable the family to take Omar abroad for treatment.
Mohammad Mubarak, director of Child Helpline, Sharjah’s 24-hour child abuse help line, told Gulf News that he received a call from Al Qasimi hospital reporting the incident, whereupon he rushed to the hospital as Omar had been under their custody before being adopted.
Mubarak said the family treated the child kindly and loved him. ”I visited the hospital at different times and each time, I found all the family around the child. They are worried about his condition,” he said.
Mubarak said he is working to help the family obtain official documents for the child’s travel abroad for treatment.
Those involved in violence against children will be tried according to UAE laws, said Mubarak.
One of the most important concerns of any community, he said, is the health, safety and well-being of its children and young people and whilst parents and caretakers are responsible for the safety and welfare of children in their custody, protecting children and young people from abuse and neglect is the responsibility of the whole community.
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The maid, in her 40s, has been arrested by the police.
Omar Yousif Al Wafi, the three-year-old boy suffered third-degree burns on different parts of his body and was taken to Al Qasimi hospital.
The incident took place ten days back, Amina, the sister of Omar’s adoptive mother, told Gulf News. The two sisters live in the same house in Sharjah’s Al Ramaqiyah area.
The baby who had been abandoned when he was four months old had been adopted by an Emirati family, said Amina, adding the boy was enrolled in KG1 when he was two.
Recalling the incident, Amina said Omar was playing with her 10-year-old son and during play used a colour pen to draw on his [Omar’s] face. The maid came to take Omar away to wash his face, led him inside the house and poured acid on his body. Hearing the screams of the child, the family rushed inside and were shocked to see black smoke rise from the boy’s body.
The maid claimed the boy himself had poured acid on his body.
According to Amina, the maid had been working with family for four years and had asked the family to extend her visa, but her visa was about to expire and she had only one month to complete her services. The family, said Amina, had always treated her well and had raised her salary recently from Dh700 to Dh1,000.
An official at Al Qasimi Hospital said the boy suffered third degree burns on his face, hands and legs and would require plastic surgery.
The boy’s family is in a state of shock, Amina said.
Yousuf Al Wafi, Amina’s husband, urged hospital authorities to issue official documents that would enable the family to take Omar abroad for treatment.
Mohammad Mubarak, director of Child Helpline, Sharjah’s 24-hour child abuse help line, told Gulf News that he received a call from Al Qasimi hospital reporting the incident, whereupon he rushed to the hospital as Omar had been under their custody before being adopted.
Mubarak said the family treated the child kindly and loved him. ”I visited the hospital at different times and each time, I found all the family around the child. They are worried about his condition,” he said.
Mubarak said he is working to help the family obtain official documents for the child’s travel abroad for treatment.
Those involved in violence against children will be tried according to UAE laws, said Mubarak.
One of the most important concerns of any community, he said, is the health, safety and well-being of its children and young people and whilst parents and caretakers are responsible for the safety and welfare of children in their custody, protecting children and young people from abuse and neglect is the responsibility of the whole community.