UAE | Emergencies
Parents of toddler who fell from building face jail
The parents of the three-year-old girl who fell to her death warned after previous incident
- By Iman Sherif, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 February 6, 2012
Abu Dhabi: The parents of the three-year-old girl who fell to her death from the fifth floor of a building on Airport Road last week face prison after receiving a suspended sentence early in January for failing to secure their child.
Last Tuesday the girl plunged to her death and the case has yet to be brought to the general prosecution, according to officials.
They could serve a one month sentence for failing to secure their child in addition to whatever punishment the court imposes for the January 31 incident.
On January 4, the child was hanging out of the kitchen window and was spotted by a policeman on the street who broke into the flat and rescued the child.
Gulf News has learned that following this the parents were referred to court where they were each given a one month suspended jail term.
"The parents had been accused of endangering the lives of others and their own child. Leaving children at home unattended risks their safety and is a crime punishable by law," said Brigadier Maktoum Al Sharifi, director of the Capital Police Directorate.
"The Abu Dhabi Police have not yet referred the case to the general prosecution," said an official on condition of anonymity.
The three-year-old Egyptian girl died after falling from her family's fifth storey apartment on January 31.
"The father who works at Al Ahlia hospital flew back home with his wife to bury their daughter after being questioned by the police. [They were] released last Friday," the watchman of the building told Gulf News.
"They will definitely be charged with negligence at least," said the source.
‘Ignorance'
According to a study by Dr Michal Grivna, Associate Professor at the Department of Community Medicine in UAE University, ten per cent of child deaths reported by the Ministry of Health from 2000-2006 were due to falls.
"There are several factors behind these accidents:parents' negligence and ignorance and in some cases children could be impulsive and hyperactive, jumping from one place to another. If this is the case, there are treatments to reduce this hyperactivity," Dr Tarek Khammas, consultant psychiatrist, told Gulf News.
"I don't think there is a need for punishment by law to parents, as these accidents were not intentional.
"Rather, awareness sessions are deemed more appropriate for the parents as ways for prevention, or health sessions to deal with hyperactive children if this is the case," he added.
"The sight of that little body in the street was something no parent would wish to see," said a neighbour.
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