Dubai: Parents are constantly required to pay special attention to their children's safety, otherwise they could be prosecuted for any negligence which could endanger a child's well-being, warned a senior prosecutor yesterday.
Negligence or inattentiveness that leads to a child's injury or accidental death is an act punishable by the UAE Penal Law.
"Parents could be prosecuted if they abandon their children or fail to pay proper attention to them and if the act leads to the endangerment or death of the child. However, the factor of negligence or inattentiveness has got to be substantiated very strongly … in other words, the parents' carelessness has to be evident before any legal action is taken against the suspected parents," Senior Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, Head of Juveniles and Family Prosecution, told Gulf News yesterday.
His warning came in light of series of cases of parents' negligence that led to their children's death or injury.
Rustom explained that punishments against negligent parents vary depending on the circumstantial evidence of each case individually.
"We as prosecutors, study each case separately because every case has its individual status. In general, we consider the situation of each suspected parent especially when they lack criminal intention and incidents take place accidentally.
Emotional state
"Eventually, we consider the parent's emotional state because losing a child or having a child injured accidentally is a punishment by itself. Yet negligence that leads to death or injury is an act punishable by law," stressed Rustom.
Legal researcher Hani Hamouda, of Bin Haidar Group of Advocates, said a parent's negligence that leads to accidentally killing or injuring a child is an act punishable by law. "According to articles 349 and 350 Federal Penal Law, a parent could face up to two years in jail or a maximum fine of Dh10,000 if he/she negligently causes the death or injures a child [under the age of 15]. A judgment is based on the discretion of a Misdemeanor Court's judge," said Hamouda.
