A housemaid escaped the gallows in Saudi Arabia after a forensic report refuted accusations that she murdered her employer’s four-month-old baby by adding rat poison to his milk nearly 9 years ago.
The court in the Eastern port of Dammam on Monday found the Indonesian maid “partly guilty” for the baby’s death and sentenced her to five years in prison.
The court has also ordered her deportation after serving her jail term.
The baby’s Saudi parents accused the maid of killing him and asked for the death penalty, in line with Islamic law. However, medical reports from a number of hospitals showed there was no trace of poison in the milk, the Saudi Arabic language daily Sabq reported.
The court held 20 sessions since the maid was arrested nine years ago.
