New Delhi:
Mahrah Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, admitted to one count of child neglect at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old was found unconscious on the street in June this year after a cocaine binge in west London, with an unattended three-year-old child playing barefoot close to traffic.
A man was also found passed out next to her.
Mahrah Al Nahyan is a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family through marriage. Not much is known about the 32-year-old.
The Al Nahyan family rules Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates of the UAE. The family is worth an estimated $300 billion, as per the NY Post, making it one of the wealthiest dynasties in the world.
Mahrah Al Nahyan receives a monthly allowance of 8,000 euros or Rs 10,10,484, court proceedings revealed.
Al Nahyan made headlines in June when she was found slumped on the road after taking a Class A drug. The royal had admitted to taking cocaine in the days before the incident.
Al Nahyan’s relationship to the toddler was not disclosed to the media.
The child nearby was cared for by passersby until police arrived.
When police reached the spot, they found drug paraphernalia near Al Nahyan but no illegal substances.
When the 32-year-old regained consciousness, she asked, “This is not a slaughterhouse, why do you care so much? Why are you so worried?”
Al Nahyan has since been admitted for drug addiction treatment to the Priory clinic in Woking, Surrey.
Stephen Vullo, who defended Al Nahyan in court, said the royal had shown “significant remorse and resolve to overcome her addiction”.
According to her lawyers, the 32-year-old intends to complete all steps of a three-month drug addiction treatment programme, which ends this month.
She plans to rent a house close to the rehab clinic and become a day patient after the end of the program to attend Narcotics Anonymous.
The court sentenced Al Nahyan to a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement. She was fined $8,000 (Rs 7.6 lakh) by the judge.
