DUBAI // A mother who left her five children for 10 months as she hid from creditors has been handed a suspended one-month prison sentence.
ZA, 27 and unemployed, left her two maids to care for her three boys and two girls, who are between two and 10 years old, while she lived at a friend's house in Abu Dhabi, hiding from creditors to whom she owed Dh800,000. This continued for 10 months, before one of the mother's other friends paid her an unannounced visit, discovered the children's situation and informed police.
When Dubai Police visited the house they found the children in poor condition. Only two of them were registered in school, and during the mother's absence the eldest son sustained an injury that required surgery when a fellow pupil shut a door on his hand.
She left the children in July 2011 to look for a job after being dismissed from her work with Dubai Police and would pay only occasional visits to her house - during which she would order the maids to lock the children in a room so they could not see her. She said she did so "because when they see me they would hold on to me and ask me to take them with me".
She said her debts had accumulated because she needed frequent loans to provide for her children as her husband had cut them off after the pair divorced in 2009. Under their divorce settlement she promised to take care of the children while the father agreed to provide financial support.
The father said he had been paying the children's expenses as ordered, adding that he had filed a lawsuit to regain custody of them because he believed his wife was neglecting them.
The woman confessed to a charge of endangering the lives of her children but argued that the father should have faced a similar charge. The court disagreed, pointing out that she had been granted custody of her children at the time they were left alone.
The children have since been put in the father's custody.
The Family and Juveniles Court suspended the woman's sentence for three years - meaning she will have to serve it only if she repeats the offence in that time frame.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
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Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
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- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar
Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded