Boy, 10, beaten for not combing hair, one arrested in Sharjah

Sharjah: Public Prosecution has referred a 36-year-old Arab supervisor of a social centre in Sharjah to the Misdemeanor Court after he was accused of assaulting a 10-year-old boy for not combing his hair.

The incident is said to have adversely affected the boy.

During interrogation, the defendant told the prosecutor that he worked as a welfare worker in the social centre and had asked the boy more than once to take care of his personal hygiene. But there had been no response.

In the last instance, when he asked the boy to comb his hair, he did not comply with the directions. So he slapped him on his neck.

He denied claims in the Prosecution record that he had assaulted the victim more than once, and said he had a clean record.

Meanwhile, the victim said during interrogation that when the defendant asked him to style his hair, he had said he did not have a comb. Subsequently, the defendant asked him to look for a comb but the boy did not pay heed. The defendant then allegedly told him that he could not use his iPad for a week. The boy then went to the computer room to attend class remotely, but when he finished and was about to leave the room, the defendant pulled him aside and hit him on the neck from behind.

The boy added that his neck went red and this was not the first time that he had been beaten.

Public Prosecution ordered that the accused remain in custody for seven days. The case will be heard in the Misdemeanor Court on August 11.