ABU DHABI // A housemaid faces trial after being accused of casting spells on the family who employed her.
Prosecution records show that the family reported the woman, who is from Indonesia, after finding a box containing a number of their possessions and words in a script they could not understand.
The Emirati family reported that the box contained their family photo, the father's wallet, a used cotton bud and a strand of hair they believed belonged to one of them. They also reported finding the mother's jewellery hidden inside a secret compartment.
They told the police they were moving house and became suspicious when the maid became protective of the box. They asked to press charges believing the maid was practising black magic against them.
Records show that when the maid was interrogated she denied casting spells, saying she kept the photo as a souvenir of the happy times she had spent with the family and that the strange text was in fact a number of prayers.
The prosecution has referred the case to court, charging the maid with theft.
hdajani@thenational.ae