The Sun Newspaper
By Holly Christodoulou
A member of the Abu Dhabi royal family was found passed out on a London street with a barefoot three-year-old after a cocaine binge.
Mahrah Al Nahyan was slumped against railings next to an unconscious man as the child played next to the busy road.
Members of the public stepped in to look after the youngster until police arrived but Al Nahyan remained unresponsive for another 30 minutes.
When she finally came to, she shouted out: “This is not a slaughterhouse, why do you care so much? Why are you so worried?”
Al Nahyan, 32, pleaded guilty to one charge of child neglect at Southwark Crown Court.
The court was told she has been undergoing drug addiction treatment at the Priory centre since the incident in June.
Al Nahyan is a member of the ruling royal family in Abu Dhabi – one of the richest and most powerful in the world – through marriage.
The family is thought to be worth more than £250 billion.
Video released by the CPS shows her lying on the pavement next to children’s toys, including a scooter and plane.
Rio Pahlavanpour, prosecuting, said a passerby “noticed the child was unattended, without shoes on the street with a scooter and seemed to be in close proximity to moving traffic”.
The court heard police attended and found drug paraphernalia in Al Nahyan’s bags but no illicit substances.
Stephen Vullo KC, defending, said she has since shown “significant remorse and resolve to overcome her addiction”.
He added: “She made a grave mistake that day and she knows it.”
Al Nahyan, who receives an £8,000 monthly allowance, was sentenced to a two-year community order with a rehabilitation requirement.
She was also fined her £5,000 plus £1,000 prosecution costs.
Mr Justice Johnson KC said: “By leaving [the child] to play barefoot in the street while under the influence of drugs, you showed a recklessness and disregard for [the child’s] safety.
“On one occasion they ran towards the road while chasing a piece of paper until a member of the public contained [the child].
“But for the intervention of strangers there was a serious risk they would be seriously injured or worse. They could have run away, become lost. They could have been taken or harmed by a stranger and could have become distressed seeing you and your friend unconscious in the street.”