Abu Dhabi, March 04: A woman on Wednesday denied selling an illegitimate newborn for Dh8,500 and claimed that she only handed the baby boy to a woman, who turned out to be an undercover police officer.
“I did not intend to sell the baby,” said the 24-year-old Indonesian cook when she defended herself before the Dubai Court of First Instance. “What really happened was that I took the baby from his mother and handed it to that woman.”
Prosecutors accused the suspect, H.N., of breaching human trafficking laws by deceiving the baby’s mother and taking the baby from her and offering it for Dh8,500.
When Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir levelled charges against her, H.N. said: “I didn’t sell the baby. I just handed it for no money. I am not guilty.”
According to the charges sheet, H.N. tricked the baby’s mother and convinced her that she would take the newborn and hand it to an Emirati family so that he will be brought up properly.
Judge Mounir adjourned the case until March 17 after advocate Haroun Tahlak volunteered to defend H.N.
An Emirati policewoman in the anti-human trafficking section testified that an informant alerted her about the suspect’s intention to sell the baby for Dh10,000.
“I posed as a buyer and agreed with H.N. to buy the baby in Jumeirah. The suspect agreed to sell the baby for Dh8,500 instead of the proposed price. An undercover policeman escorted me to Jumeirah mosque where the alleged deed took place. When H.N. arrived, she asked me not to talk about money in front of the people who were supposed to bring the baby. She said she would take the money after those people left,” the policewoman said.
——Agencies