8 - 14 November 2001
Issue No.559
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 8 - 14 November 2001 Issue No.559 |
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Real life monster?
After days of playing hide-and-seek with the police, an actress who allegedly tortured her maid has been arrested. Rana Allam reports
Following a nearly three- week manhunt, police finally caught up with actress Wafaa Mekki, suspected of having tortured her 15-year-old maid.
In the village of Berket Al- Saba'a in the Nile Delta province of Menoufiya, Mekki was arrested on Monday, following a police ambush, along with her mother and her ex-husband.
Mekki had been wanted by the police for allegedly seriously injuring her maid. Fearing she could die of her injuries, which included severe burns to the body, the 35-year-old actress reportedly sought the help of a fellow actor as well as her cousin to have the girl driven in her car to the railway station of the maid's hometown, Qweissna, and leave her there. The maid's father filed a complaint with the police and an arrest warrant for Mekki was issued. She had been on the run since.
Mekki was arrested on her way to the maid's home to try to persuade the father to drop the charges he had filed, reportedly in return for a large sum of money. Her cousin was also arrested and her actor friend turned himself in earlier this week.
Ahmed El-Borei, a minor league actor who allegedly drove the maid to the station and left her there, denied the charge, claiming he was at the headquarters of the Actors Union at the time of the incident. But his alibi could not be independently confirmed and the maid identified him as the man behind the wheel.
Following her arrest, Mekki denied the accusations levelled against her, claiming the maid had stolen her jewellery and that she had burned the girl's body for fear of contracting a skin disease the maid supposedly had. Mekki later confessed she had physically abused the girl to get her jewellery back.
The maid, who is now at the Qweissna General Hospital, had accused the actress of plucking her finger nails off, burning her skin with a red-hot knife, shaving her head and beating her with a stick. A forensic examination has reportedly corroborated the maid's accusations.
Mekki had spent the last 18 days in hiding, seeking the help of her ex-husband, also on the run for swindling the public of LE5 million in return for false promises. Along with her mother, Mekki and her former husband rented a furnished apartment in the Nile Delta city of Tanta. During her infrequent outings, Mekki would wear a neqab (the Islamic dress that covers the entire body) to avoid being recognised.
The actress, who normally plays minor supporting roles in television serials and films, had reportedly offered to reach a settlement with the maid's father by offering him LE200,000. The offer was made through her lawyer but was turned down. Mekki then decided to visit the man, apparently believing she had greater persuasive powers.
Earlier reports said Mekki had wanted to turn herself in and agreed with the secretary-general of the Actors Union, Ashraf Zaki, that he accompany her to the police. But according to Zaki, she never showed up and could not be contacted on her mobile phone which had been switched off.
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