Couple held for having baby out of wedlock

Sharjah - 37-year-old Arab man insists he married 24-year-old Ethiopian maid and will produce marriage certificate

A man and woman have been arrested in Sharjah for having baby out of wedlock, according to Sharjah Police.
The duo were charged with adultery, while the woman was also accused of violation of residence law, as she had absconded from her employer.
The Sharjah Police arrested the duo - 37-year-old Arab man who work for a government department in Sharjah and 24-year-old Ethiopian maid - when they went to a hospital for delivering the baby.
When the hospital officials asked for marriage certificate and other details, the two suspects said that they did not have documents to present and the police was informed
During the police interrogation the maid said that she absconded from a house due to ill treatment and then she went to the flat which is rented by the suspect for a number of women bachelors. He was living with his wife and children in the same flat in separate rooms.
She said that the man was kind and sympathetic towards her and they fell in love. After two years of sexual relationship, they got married and she got pregnant.
During the police interrogation the man said that he was in the UAE for more than 15 years and follow the laws in the country.
He insisted that they got married and said that he will send someone to bring the marriage certificate from the woman's homeland and her family was living in a village in a remote area.
He said that he had fallen in love with woman and married her and wanted both the mother and child. He also argued that if the woman was not his wife, he would not have accompanied her to the hospital.
Sex out of wedlock is illegal in UAE and if they fail to present the marriage certificate, both the suspects will be jailed and deported.
amira@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah