In a forgiving gesture, a Saudi citizen waived his right to retribution from an Indonesian domestic maid who murdered his 11-month- old daughter seven years ago.

Ghaleb Nasir al-Hamri al-Balawi dropped the charges at the public court before the verdict was made.

"I forgave the maid for several reasons. The most important is that God orders us to forgive, and I seek his blessings and love. Furthermore, my parents taught me to forgive others and they asked that I acquit the house cleaner. Third, seeing her punished will not get me my daughter back, besides I would have ruined her entire life especially that she is still young. Thankfully, after the death of my baby girl, the good God granted me 3 children, 2 boys and a girl,” he told Al Arabiya.Net.

Balawi added he is not seeking the pleasures and vanity of this life, he wants his place in paradise and the only way to do so is by doing good deeds. He said that he consulted his wife on the matter and she agrees on principle, but she is still hesitant about the pardon as she is worried about what her friends might say. Nevertheless, he is certain that she will come around.

Balawi explained that the issue is still ongoing, and the investigations continue, but he was fed up of repeating the past, so he decided to pardon her.

He said that he is married to three women and has 17 children, including 7 girls and 10 boys. The mother of the deceased child is his second wife with whom he has two sons and a daughter.

Details of the crime

The crime happened 7 years ago. Balawi said that he had a funeral at home when he was in Qurayyat while his wife was in Tabuk.

They were shocked by the death of their child. After the autopsy, they discovered bruises on her back and red marks on her face.

“We did not point fingers to anyone, but after a while the police came and asked to investigate the maid, which we brought seven months before the attack,” he said.

“She admitted that she muffled the child with a blanket and pressed her until she died. The maid was then referred to the investigation and prosecution services to carry on the inquiry.”

Ghaleb concluded by saying that he wishes the release of the maid and be allowed to keep his promise to her. The maid wishes to go to Hajj before traveling to Indonesia.

Balawi said that he did not hire any maid since the disastrous incident. He rather worked on bringing up his children with his wives together without any hired help.