Dubai: Dubai Police is investigating the case of a Filipina who bled to her death last week.

Angel Pauya Trasadas would have turned 34 on August 25. But she died on July 29 after bleeding profusely while working as a part-time maid in one of the flats in the China Cluster in International City, her friends told Gulf News.

Police said investigation is still under way and declined to give more details.

A close friend and roommate of Trasadas, who requested anonymity, said Trasadas had told her that she was pregnant. But because it was a pregnancy out of wedlock, she decided not to continue with her pregnancy.

However, there was no confirmation from the police about circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.

“She was scared. She had overstayed and had no visa since 2016. I advised her numerous times not to terminate her pregnancy and to wait for the amnesty that would begin just days away on August 1.

'Angel is gone'

"But she said she has no way of supporting her kids and the baby growing in her womb if she comes back to the Philippines,” Trasadas’ close friend told Gulf News.

“I was stunned when our roommate called me to say that Angel is gone. She is believed to have taken a drug to abort the baby but she bled out. She was more than a friend. She was like a sister to me.”

Trasadas left behind two kids, aged 11 and 8.

Orphaned at a young age, with her mother’s passing when she was three, Trasadas was cared for by her aunt in General Santos.

After finishing high school, she worked in a factory and started a family.

Domestic violence

Trasadas’ friend added that she was a victim of domestic violence.

She was forced to flee from her knife-wielding partner who threatened to kill her for not providing for the family. She had just given birth to her second child then.

“She slept in the streets with her daughter and newborn son. It was then that she decided to work abroad. She worked as a maid for two years in Al Ain.

"After that, she kept changing jobs as a cleaner and a maid after her employers cheated her and did not honour the contract,” the friend said.

Her cousin, Peter Pauya, said her death came as a shock.

“We have been trying to locate her since she lost contact with our mom in 2013. We found out about her death on social media. We have no information as to the real cause of her death. Please help us,” Pauya told Gulf News in an interview from the Philippines.

Pauya said her family had been in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“We request authorities to please release her body as soon as possible so we could lay her to rest. Her kids also want to see her.”

Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes assured the family that Trasadas’ remains will be repatriated to her hometown once police investigations are completed.

“We still await the complete police investigation. The police won’t release the remains until all investigations are done and over with. The consulate cannot and will not interfere with police investigations.

"Only when the police says the investigation is finished can shipment procedures commence. The consulate will assist in the shipment of the remains all the way to their home province as is the standard policy.”