A mother of five whose teenage daughter became a celebrity influencer and singer after starring on “Arabs Got Talent” has been jailed after using money from her daughter to raise her siblings because she was not paid alimony.

Mona Al-Saber, the mother of singer and social media star Hala Al-Turk, 18, said she had raised her daughter and her other four children without any income on her own, and was dependent on money from her ex-husband, the singer’s father.

She said that her daughter had told her she could borrow the money, but then changed her mind and demanded it be paid back and when she could not afford it, had reported her to police.

Mona said: “I can’t believe my daughter didn’t waive the case”.

She claims that she has had to take care of Hala, who boasts 5 million followers on Instagram, and her siblings without an income of her own.

The mother is divorced from Hala’s father and has previously called for him to pay the outstanding child support payments totalling around BHD 15,000 (GBP 29,300) so she can pay off her daughter.

She added: “I have not been receiving my alimony for more than a year and a half.”

The court in Bahrain accepted the complaint after the influencer daughter turned up on Mother’s Day to give evidence against her mum, and in the wake of that testimony has ordered the mum jailed for a year over the disputed personal loan of SAR 200,000 (GBP 39,275).

The mother had previously been given a suspended sentence but after the most recent ruling, she is facing real prison time.

Mona said: “This is a stab in my chest from the people closest to me.”

She added: “I hoped my daughter would tell the truth, I would have thanked her for the best mother’s day gift I could have hoped for.”

Mona believes that her daughter testified against her and made up allegations that the money was taken without her knowledge under pressure from family members.

She said: “Originally, I did not expect Hala to come to court and testify against me. Of course, you know who convinced her to do so, her father, grandmother, uncle and those around them.”

Mona announced the verdict on Instagram to her followers who reacted to the ruling with great sympathy for her.

Her followers launched a ‘hashtag’ with the handle “The people of Bahrain save Mona Al-Saber.”

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