Dubai: Prosecutors and lawyers have appealed to parents to keep a closer eye on their children after a man allegedly raped an eight-year-old girl even as she clutched the Quran in fear.
The Pakistani visitor faces charges of kidnapping and raping the Bangladeshi girl after she left a Quran learning centre.
He is alleged to have assaulted her in a remote area while she cried and held on tightly to the Quran in her arms.
This is the second recent case in which a child under the age of eight has been raped, prompting prosecutors and lawyers to launch their appeal to parents to be more observant concerning their children's safety.
The first case involved a 30-year-old Emirati suspect, R.R., who is on trial for raping and murdering a four-year-old Pakistani boy in a mosque's washroom during Eid Al Adha. The verdict in the case will be announced on January 27.
Trial
The 21-year-old Pakistani visitor, M.S., is scheduled to appear before the Dubai Court of First Instance on January 18, where he will be prosecuted for kidnap with deception and threatening to chop the victim into pieces if she cried out.
Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution, told Gulf News: "Parents should watch out for their children closely and not leave them unattended, especially with strangers or in strange places… rape or sexual abuse incidents happen in seconds."
Advocate Eisa Bin Haider said a lack of knowledge makes children more vulnerable to sexual predators. "Parents must guide their children to stay away from strangers and avoid standing in unfamiliar and deserted places," he said.
Advocate Mohammad Al Sa'adi, who is R.R's defence lawyer, told Gulf News that "Fathers and mothers should bring up their children properly by teaching them to stay away from ill-mannered friends and to stay away from bad peer influence… parents should watch out [for] their children's safety and security observantly."
Prosecutors contend M.S. lured the girl into his car after promising to give her Dh10 and buy juice for her and the other children at the learning centre. They claim when she got into his car, M.S. locked the doors and drove to a building's parking lot where he allegedly raped her, according to records.
Prosecutors said the girl cried loudly and held on tightly to Quran while the suspect raped her. The suspect allegedly threatened to kill the girl and chop her body into several pieces if she cried out during the rape.
Capital punishment
In the charge-sheet, prosecutors have asked that the accused receive capital punishment.
Rustom said: "Child rape or molestation is alien to our society… but parents should constantly monitor their children's security. Parents should take care of their children in a way that doesn't scare them or limit their freedom."
Al Sa'adi said: "Parents should teach their children to stay away from smoking, liquor, drugs and ill-manners… fathers and mothers should advise children against watching indecent satellite channels and surfing indecent websites."
Bin Haidar said: "Parents must teach their children [in a simple and friendly manner] that they have the right to say no to suspicious strangers…"
