Maids cleared of stealing and absconding from sponsor in Dubai

Two maids accused of stealing money then absconding from their sponsor were cleared of both charges by Dubai Criminal Court.

The Kenyan women's employer, an Emirati woman aged 47, said she realised they had left the home when her house-bound sister became unwell and she had to call for an ambulance.

She was not home at the time and paramedics were unable to get into the house in the suburb of Rashidiya as the maids, aged 22 and 28, were not there.

”I called my nephew and told him to open up, he told me the maids were not home,” she told the court.

When her nephew could not find the maids, their passports or Dh6,000 in cash, which she kept along with the passports, she called the police.

The two maids were arrested this year and referred to public prosecution.

In court, the pair, aged 22 and 28, denied charges of theft and absconding.

The judge did not side with prosecutors and cleared the woman, though did not give a reason for clearing them.