An Emirati royal was found collapsed on a busy West London street after a cocaine binge while she was looking after a three-year-old child, a UK court has heard.
Mahrah Al Nahyan, 32, a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family through marriage, admitted one charge of child neglect at Southwark Crown Court. Passersby found her slumped on railings near an unconscious man, while a barefooted toddler played close to moving traffic.
Prosecutor Rio Pahlavanpour told the court that members of the public noticed the child was unattended, without shoes, and near a scooter beside a busy road. They intervened because the toddler appeared close to traffic.
Al Nahyan remained unresponsive for about half an hour. When she awoke, she is said to have shouted: “This is not a slaughterhouse, why do you care so much? Why are you so worried?”
A video recorded by an onlooker showed her lying on the pavement next to children’s toys, including a scooter and a toy plane. Near her, a man was also found sprawled out next to railings and a bin.
When officers searched her, they found drugs paraphernalia but no illicit substances.
The court heard that Al Nahyan has been in drug addiction treatment at the Priory Centre in Woking, Surrey, since the incident. Defence counsel Stephen Vullo KC said she has stopped using drugs since entering the Priory in July and has shown significant remorse.
He said she had not taken drugs on the day of the offence but was very tired after using cocaine in the previous days. She plans to finish a three-month programme by the end of this month, then rent a property near Guildford and attend Narcotics Anonymous as a day patient.
“She made a grave mistake that day and she knows it,” Vullo said.
Justice Johnson KC sentenced Al Nahyan to a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement. He also fined her £5,000 and ordered her to pay £1,000 in costs after hearing she receives an £8,000 monthly allowance.
The judge said that by leaving the child to play barefoot in the street while under the influence of drugs, she showed recklessness and disregard for the child’s safety. On one occasion, the child ran toward the road while chasing a piece of paper until a member of the public stopped them.
“But for the intervention of strangers there was a serious risk they would be seriously injured or worse,” the judge said. He warned the child could have run away, become lost, been taken or harmed by a stranger, or become distressed seeing Al Nahyan and her friend unconscious in the street.
Abu Dhabi’s ruling family is among the world’s richest, with an estimated fortune of more than £250 billion and major influence in global investments and oil.
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