Maid claims stabbing was self-defence

A maid accused of trying to kill her boss with a kitchen knife claims she did it to protect herself.

The 23-year-old Ethiopian told Fujairah Criminal Court yesterday that she grabbed the knife from the hands of her Emirati employer as the woman was attacking her.

The maid said she then stabbed her boss several times.

“She attacked me with a knife and stabbed me,” the defendant claimed. “I managed to grab the knife from her hand and also stabbed her.”

She added: “I was only protecting myself”, saying that she had not intended to hurt her boss.

The domestic worker also showed the court scars from wounds she claims were sustained during the attack. The maid also told the court that her employer mistreated her and would beat her up on a daily basis. She denies a charge of attempted murder.

However, prosecutors maintain that the defendant was trying to kill her boss and stabbed the woman in several parts of the body during the attack, which took place at a villa in the Mursheed area of Fujairah. 

The court was told the maid fled the scene in a cab and went to Abu Dhabi. She was arrested later the same day when the Bangladeshi taxi driver lodged a complaint against her with police for not paying a fare.

The case has been adjourned.

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