(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Two women and a man stood trial for terminating a four-month-old foetus and burying him in a pit at the Sharjah Criminal Court.
The first accused woman - E, B - and the Pakistani man - K.H.A. - were booked for committing adultery while the second woman was charged with putting others lives at risk by selling drugs. Penalty for illicit sexual relation According to Article 356 of the UAE Criminal Code, those convicted of consensual sex outside of wedlock are to be punished by not less than a year in prison while Article 340 from the same law states that a person who carries out a deliberate miscarriage using medicine or harmful methods is to be punished by not more than five years, according to Emirati lawyer Huda Rustom Al Falamarzy from Mohammed Al Hashimi Advocates. The Sharjah court has heard an Indonesian woman took medicine to abort her child from an illicit relationship with a Pakistani man, while the third accused offered helped her to get rid of the pregnancy. The three defendants denied the charges before the court presided by Judge Dr. Yacoub Al Hammadi who read out the prosecution sheet, which said the foetus was buried in a garden pit at a home located in Al Janian area, Sharjah The judge postponed the trial of the three accused to August 7. The man and woman in the illicit relationship were Muslims and were married in their countries. The first accused said that she was too scared that she could not deliver the child here or return to her country, as she was already married over there. So no other option was left before her, but to terminate the foetus. She added that the second accused has sold her the medicine, showed her how to use it. The third accused, the second woman confessed during the court hearing that she sold the medicine to the woman and also showed her how to use it. The Pakistani accused also confessed that he had sexual relation with the woman and was not aware that the first accused will get rid of the baby. The first accused accompanied the police teams to identify the pit and DNA tests on the remains of the foetus proved that the child has identical DNA of the first two accused. Cyber prostitution In a separate case, the court heard the case of three African women involved in adultery. They were they charged by the presiding judge for involving in prostitution. The women used to hunt for customers on the internet, which has come to the attention of cyber crimes officials at Sharjah Police. An undercover police team who learnt about their activities set a trap and arrested them. However, the culprits denied the accusation during the court hearing. The public prosecution has requested the court for a tougher punishment and one of the accused submitted pleaded for clemency. The judge adjourned the case to Thursday. Amira Agarib