A maid has been accused of stealing Dh1.4 million in cash and three diamond wristwatches worth Dh700,000 from her female sponsor while the latter was away on holiday.

The Emirati woman sponsor was said to have received a message on her WhatsApp from the 26-year-old Ethiopian maid informing her that her safe had disappeared from her residence in October. The sponsor called up her brother and asked him to go and check whether the safe had been missing or not from her residence in Mirdif.

When the brother reached the flat, he discovered that the maid and safe had disappeared and so he reported the same to the police.

Preliminary interrogations revealed that the Ethiopian was involved in the theft.

Prosecutors accused the maid of robbing cash and valuables from her sponsor

The 26-year-old pleaded not guilty when she appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

Prosecutors said the maid and two other suspects, who remain at large, stole the Emirati’s cash and valuable wristwatches.

Asked by presiding judge Urfan Omar about her statement before prosecutors that two others had carried out the heist, the maid contended that she was beaten by law enforcement officers and coerced to say what she had said. She also alleged before the presiding judge that she was threatened that she would be killed if she did not say what she had been quoted as saying.

“I am innocent and I want to be cleared of this charge,” the 26-year-old told the court.

“My maid notified me that the iron safe went missing. Immediately, I called up my brother and told him what had happened … when he went to my residence to check, he did not find the maid and the safe was also missing. He also called up the police and told them what had happened,” the sponsor told the prosecutors.

The Ethiopian suspect was quoted as telling prosecutors that she had allowed a man and a woman to enter the residence while she was cleaning.

She said she spotted the man walking out quickly from the bedroom, carrying a safe with him

source : gulfnews