Headless Filipina maid's husband in Dubai: I can't move on

Dubai - Salvio de Lima, a police inspector in the Philippines, arrived in Dubai on Monday to take home the body of his murdered wife, Normita.

The husband of the mutilated Filipina domestic helper wants to give his wife a proper burial and is seeking swift justice for closure of the sad fate which befell his family.
Salvio de Lima, a police inspector in the Philippines, arrived in Dubai on Monday to take home the body of his murdered wife, Normita, whose headless body was found on May 25 in Al Warqa. Normita's hands were also cut off.
"I still can't move on," de Lima told reporters at a press conference held at the Philippine Consulate on Monday. "I still can't accept the gruesome death of my wife, whom I've been married for 16 years. She was a loving wife and a caring mother."
De Lima said he last spoke to his wife on May 22 and she told him that she will be sending money to buy school supplies for their teenage kids. "In the early hours of May 25, Glen, my wife's nephew, called me and said his aunt had run away from her employer," De Lima said. "I told him to report the matter to the police, but Glen said he cannot do it because he is an undocumented worker."
"Glen told me that my wife had been complaining about her employer, but I never heard any of it (complaints) from my wife. She did not even tell of her hardships to my children," De Lima added.
After months of investigation, Glen was arrested by the Dubai Police on September 20. According to police reports, Glen admitted that "after cutting off Normita's legs, hands and head in his home, he rented a car and took them to Dubai and to Ajman, where he set fire to the body parts in a deserted area. He then returned to his apartment and dumped his crime tools in the garbage bag."
In an earlier interview with Khaleej Times, de Lima said he initially doubted that Glen committed the crime and after reading about it in the newspaper he was convinced that the Dubai Police did a thorough investigation. "As a police officer myself, I can vouch to the integrity of the police report," de Lima said.
De Lima said his relationship with Glen's family is obviously strained. "Only 40 per cent of them are satisfied with the report and the rest still think that he is innocent."
Meanwhile, the Philippine consul-general Paul Raymund Cortes said legal assistance has been extended to Glen. A case number has been filed but no hearing has been set yet. The consulate is also finishing the paper work for the repatriation of Normita's body but funds have already been allocated, he added.
- angel@khaleejtimes.com

• Philippines