At the Dubai Courts. ARCHIVE

Dubai expat convicted of theft wins custody of daughter

An expatriate woman convicted of theft in Dubai has won custody of her daughter after the top court ruled that she was more suitable to care for the child who was neglected by the father. The woman is serving a suspended three-month jail sentence and a fine for stealing from her ex-husband $8,000 in cash and gold worth an estimated Dh160,000. The Dubai Court of Cassation upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal to give custody of the couple’s 10-year-old daughter to the woman, saying that the father had neglected their child. The case started at the Dubai Personal Status Court where the girl’s father demanded that his daughter be put in his custody because the mother has been convicted. The Personal Status Court ruled in the man’s favor and waived alimony imposed on him, but the woman appealed the ruling. The case was moved to the Court of First Instance, which ruled to return child custody to the mother. The ruling was upheld by the Court of Cassation. The woman’s lawyer provided evidence that the father had neglected the girl in his custody, and had not spent time with his daughter or spent money on her needs for more than a year. Evidence was also submitted that the father inflicted burns on his daughter. A foster care committee report showed that the girl’s father lived in a one-bedroom apartment that he shared with his sister. He lived in the hall, while his daughter shared the room with her aunt. The girl was reportedly unhappy with the living conditions. After reviewing the foster care committee’s report, the Court of Cassation ruled that the mother’s home provided the most suitable environment for the child, where the mother allocated a private room for her and followed up on her needs and education. ICA/Expat Media
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