ABU DHABI // A Filipina accused of strangling her elderly Emirati husband has apparently yet to be tried, despite earlier reports she had been sentenced to a year in prison. Libran Cabactulan, the Philippines' ambassador told reporters last month that the embassy had been informed by a prosecutor that ALG, 39, had been handed the sentence for the murder of MHN, 70, at their home in Bani Yas.
He said he found the light sentence "surprising" and requested more information from the woman's defence lawyer. Yesterday, he disclosed that the lawyer said the woman's trial had yet to begin. She remains in custody. "The lawyer, hired by the foreign affairs department in Manila, has reported to the embassy that the case of ALG is still pending investigation by the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Bani Yas," he said.
The case dates back to July 8 when ALG, and a Syrian man she was alleged to be having an affair with, PF, 42, were questioned over the death and the woman was arrested. Noel Servigon, consul general at the Philippine embassy, said an attaché visited ALG in jail, where she denied killing her husband. She spoke only of her concern for the well-being of her three children. ALG had told the Bani Yas Police her children found their father dead in bed. Police concluded that the man, found with blood on his face and knees, was strangled. Tests revealed traces of the victim's skin under his wife's fingernails, while DNA matching showed two of her children were fathered by the Syrian, police said.
The Syrian has denied any involvement in MHN's death. Murder cases often take many months to reach court and those convicted of the crime are usually sentenced to life in prison. rruiz@thenational.ae
