Saudi Gazette report YANBU – A Yanbu father said he has forgiven a housemaid who allegedly poured hot water on his one-year-old baby girl, it was reported on Tuesday. Aish Ayed Al-Baqami said on Monday that he has pardoned the African housemaid and only wanted her to be sent home on a final exit visa. He told local daily Al-Madinah that he had noticed the maid behaving strangely but chose to ignore this because he needed her services, especially as his wife was working and he needed the maid to look after his three young daughters, the oldest being seven. He said last month the maid dropped the baby, Rival, when she picked her up from the ground and the girl woke up crying. He said: “I showed the maid how to pick up a sleeping child without dropping her on the floor.” Al-Baqami also said in the same month the maid threw a plate at Rival, hitting her hard on the head while he was busy with guests. He also said that about two weeks ago the maid let Rival crawl outside the house without stopping her. Last week, when he brought his wife home from the school where she worked, they heard their three daughters crying when they opened the door, he said. The eldest one told them that the housemaid had poured hot water on Rival. He said: “I had enough of the maid's unacceptable behavior so I turned her over to the police, who referred her case to the Prosecution and Investigations Bureau.” The father said he decided to pardon the housemaid because his daughter is alive. “I am happy and thankful to Allah that my daughter did not die or was badly hurt in the incident, so I decided to pardon the maid.” Al-Baqami said after waiving the case against his housemaid, he issued her with a final exit visa and applied for a replacement. He asked the recruitment offices to medically examine all housemaids before importing them and to train them on how to do their work properly in Saudi homes.
