Dubai: A maid has been accused of stealing her sponsor’s passport and using it to try to find a new job in Abu Dhabi after absconding from Dubai.

The 25-year-old Ethiopian maid, S.J., was said to have taken her passport and that of her Emirati sponsor, in addition to other papers required to find another job after she absconded in March.

Records said S.J. went to Abu Dhabi where she met a woman and offered to work for her, but when the latter found the contact number of the sponsor [written on a sticker] she called him up and informed him that the maid had asked her for a job.

Prosecutors charged the suspect with theft.

The Ethiopian suspect pleaded not guilty and refuted her accusations when she appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said S.J. stole her sponsor’s passport, medical test papers, the papers of the labour supply agency, visa documents, a mobile phone and Dh500 in cash. She also took back her passport.

“I did not steal my sponsor’s passport … I just took my passport,” S.J. contended before presiding judge Urfan Omar.

When asked about her demands from the court, the suspect asked to be sent back to her country.

The sponsor claimed to prosecutors that his wife had informed him over the phone that the maid had absconded at 12.20pm.

“I asked my wife to check the maid’s room, and when she did, she told me that S.J.’s door was locked. Then I asked my son to check if she had taken anything from our belongings … when we discovered that she had stolen some items, I informed the police immediately. Some time later a woman phoned me from Abu Dhabi. She told me that S.J. had come to her and asked to work for her … the woman found my contact number and called me directly,” the sponsor testified to prosecutors.

The sponsor’s son claimed to prosecutors that when he checked his father’s bedroom, he discovered that the suspect had taken her passport and stolen his father’s passport.

“She had taken all the important papers required to find a new job. She also stole the mobile phone that was placed on top of a cupboard in the bedroom. We called the police immediately,” he testified.

Presiding judge Omar will hand out a judgement on May 16.