Dubai: A chief prosecutor has appealed to the authorities to regulate the selling of knives and sharp tools to teenagers, following an alleged premeditated murder committed by five juvenile suspects.
The authorities concerned should "strictly police" and regulate the process of selling of knives, swords, cleavers or any sort of sharp tools to teenagers, Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution at Dubai Public Prosecution, said on Tuesday.
"I strongly believe that sharp tools, which are deemed as weapons, should be labelled or categorised as ‘dangerous or standard weapons'. And I, honestly and seriously, appeal to the authorities and shop owners to regulate the process of selling sharp tools to juveniles. Selling sharp tools to children or teenagers should be restricted, otherwise, a legal mechanism should be incepted for that purpose," Rustom told Gulf News.
His call came in the wake of an alleged incident last week that involved five Emirati teenagers, who premeditatedly murdered a 13-year-old Emirati boy by stabbing him 11 times with sharp tools in front of his house in Al Rashidiya.
Rustom told Gulf News that questioning the witnesses is expected to conclude within a week from yesterday as prosecutors have already listened to nine witnesses.
"The investigation continues until we receive the medical and forensic reports, which is expected [to be] next week. Thereafter we will confront the five suspects [whom we have already questioned] with the findings, witnesses' statements and the medical and forensic reports," said the Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution.
Blame
On who is to be blamed for juvenile delinquency [particularly teenagers who use sharp tools] Rustom stressed: "I believe there are many factions of the society who are to be blamed… parents, school directors, heads of sporting clubs, bad friends and others. Yet, the biggest responsibility lies on parents.
"A family is the fountain of good morals, uprightness, respectfulness, high principles and decency in behaviour and conduct. Parents are responsible for the upbringing and nurturing of their children… that's why they should be vigilant concerning their children's behaviour and attitude. Directors of schools and sporting clubs are also involved in protecting teenagers against becoming delinquent through good guidance."
The Chief Prosecutor preferred not to comment on whether the Federal Penal Code is deterrent enough to curb juvenile delinquency and teenagers' crimes. However, he said each case is treated individually.
"We [Family and Juveniles Prosecution] have to prepare a social worker's report on any teenage suspect before referring him/her to court for prosecution. Every juvenile suspect is examined by a social worker, who prepares a complete report about the teenager's social, educational, cultural and financial background before appearing in front of a judge. That's why handing out the proper punishment for a juvenile suspect is based on a judge's discretion as each case is treated separately," clarified Rustom.
He said the UAE's society is still safe and secure [compared to other societies]. "The fact that this recent case shook the public and influenced the media is a clear proof that such crimes are ‘rare' and strongly denounced and rejected by our society," he said.
