Maid arrested after Dubai employer 'bewitched'

Dubai: An Asian domestic worker has been arrested on charges of practising witchcraft and sorcery against her employer, which is punishable under the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Federal Penal Code.

According to the details of the incident, Dubai Public Prosecution referred the maid to the Misdemeanour Court.  

The victim said she was experiencing mental and physical fatigue and suspected that her maid was practising black magic. 

The employer also reported hearing strange murmurs in the middle of the night when she was in the bathroom. 

When the employer confronted the maid, she denied having cast any spells. 

After searching the maid's phone, the victim found that the maid was communicating with a stranger to perform magic. 

She also found a picture of a doll with talismans, as well as a piece of cloth with blood hidden in the maid's room. 

During the interrogation, the accused admitted that she had contacted one of her relatives to communicate with a 'religious man'.  

The man reportedly told her to pay Dh200 in exchange for praying on her behalf so that her employer would treat her well. 

The relative then sent her a picture of the doll on WhatsApp and asked the maid to keep it on her phone—insisting that it would control her employer's behaviour.