The attack and discovery
Malak was four months old and lived with her family in Abu Dhabi. Contemporary reporting states that on April 28, 2013, a Filipina nanny briefly left the infant's room. During that interval, another domestic worker in the household, identified in court coverage as S.T., took Malak from her crib.
Home surveillance footage became a critical part of the case. Reports produced in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department said the recordings showed the worker taking Malak away and returning her to the crib minutes later. The child was found unresponsive and was taken for emergency medical treatment. She later died from her injuries.
Investigation
Investigators examined the surveillance footage and forensic evidence. Early in the inquiry, S.T. disputed deliberately harming the child and said Malak had fallen accidentally. Court reporting later described an admission in which she said she had attacked the baby amid hostility toward the other nanny.
The prosecution treated the death as intentional rather than accidental. Because accounts of motive came through confessions and courtroom evidence, this dossier does not speculate beyond what was presented in the proceedings. It also avoids treating interpersonal tension among household staff as any justification for violence against Malak.
Trial and appeals
The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court convicted S.T. of premeditated murder and imposed the death penalty in 2013 after Malak's parents declined to pardon her or accept blood money. The case then passed through multiple layers of review.
An appellate process was complicated by concerns over the seriousness of the defense provided to S.T. in an earlier stage. A later Appeals Court again upheld the death sentence. That procedural history matters because it shows the punishment was not simply affirmed in a single uncontested proceeding.
Final cassation ruling
On June 9, 2015, the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation upheld the death sentence in what The National described as S.T.'s final appeal. The court rejected her arguments that the death had been accidental and that her confession should be discarded.
The National also noted an important legal distinction: although the judicial appeals were exhausted, the UAE president retained the final authority over whether the capital sentence would be carried out. Reliable sources reviewed for this file establish the conviction and final judicial sentence; this page therefore does not claim an execution unless separately documented.
Timeline
April 28, 2013: Malak is attacked at her Abu Dhabi home while another caregiver is briefly away.
April 2013: the infant is hospitalized and later dies; investigators review home surveillance footage and forensic findings.
September 2013: the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court convicts S.T. of premeditated murder and imposes the death penalty.
2014–2015: appellate proceedings review the conviction and sentence, including questions about the adequacy of an earlier defense.
June 9, 2015: the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation upholds the sentence on final judicial appeal.
Current classification
The murder of Baby Malak is classified Solved / Adjudicated. S.T. was convicted of premeditated murder, and the UAE's cassation court upheld the sentence after appellate review. The classification concerns criminal responsibility and the adjudicated judgment; it does not imply that every later executive decision concerning punishment is documented here.
Sources
- The National — final Court of Cassation ruling, June 9, 2015
- The National — appellate history and defense issue, December 31, 2014
- Khaleej Times — criminal-court conviction and sentence, September 25, 2013
- Khaleej Times / Abu Dhabi Judicial Department collaboration — initial investigation and surveillance evidence, April 30, 2013