Niqab-clad woman’s robbery attempt ‘not a serious crime’, Abu Dhabi court hears

The lawyer told the Criminal Court that as the defendant had used a plastic toy gun during the incident in March there was no danger to anyone, so the case should be heard by the Misdemeanours Court.

ABU DHABI // The lawyer for the Filipina accused of attempting to rob a money exchange while dressed in a niqab told the Criminal Court that her crime was not serious.

On Tuesday, the lawyer said as the defendant had used a plastic toy gun during the incident in March there was no danger to anyone, so the case should be heard by the Misdemeanours Court.

The defendant had previously confessed to the crime, saying she did it because her residency visa had been cancelled and she needed money to pay off debts.

The lawyer said the incident occurred at 9.30am and not late at night, and only one person had committed the crime.

He said a toy gun could not be used to hurt another person, and for it to be threatening it must have the ability to cause harm.

The defendant also confessed to using the fake gun, although she said did not mean to hurt anyone during the robbery and used the toy gun “as a joke”.

The verdict will be announced on May 20.