Dubai: A top prosecutor yesterday appealed to the authorities to expedite a law to control the possession of sharp-edged weapons.
Senior Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution, yesterday urged the authorities to speed up the process of drafting the law to control the process of possessing sharp tools such as swords, cleavers and/or knives.
"Suspects who are caught in possession of unlicensed sharp tools should be forwarded to justice for possessing sharp-edged weapons… the law would inevitably facilitate the process of prosecuting such defendants," Ali Rustom said.
"The law has to be okayed soon as it will help in eradicating the possession of sharp-edged weapons, which is a negative tendency that is afflicting the society and our children badly," he said. His call comes in the wake of referring five Emirati suspects to court for assaulting Bani Yas Club goalkeeper Mohammad Ali Gulum with sharp tools last month.
Special attention
The interrogation has concluded and two suspects were referred to the Dubai Juveniles Court and three others were referred to the Dubai Misdemeanour Court, Rustom said. "Family and Juveniles Prosecution pay special attention to cases involving suspects who use sharp tools to attack victims due to the crime's severity and cruelty and the harmful and negative impact it leaves on the society. We deal with such cases with utmost prudence and handle suspects sternly. In such crimes, we carry out substantial and thorough investigations and deal with suspects with considerable strictness as per the directives of Dubai's Attorney General Essam Eisa Al Humaidan … we do so to combat such crime and prevent it from mushrooming or spreading in the community," he said.
Police arrested the five suspects shortly after they attacked the footballer with a knife after a fight between one of the attackers and another Arab man over a cinema seat at Mirdif City Centre.
Intervention
The mall's security guard intervened to break up the fight, but the attacker called his friends and the suspects were waiting outside the cinema for the two victims when the movie ended.
The Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution told Gulf News: "None of the suspects has been charged with attempted murder. Our investigations revealed that none of the suspects had the intention to kill the goalkeeper … yet they intended to attack him. That's why they have been charged with assaulting and injuring the victim."
Investigation
Police earlier identified three of the suspects as A.A.A., M.H.S. and S.H.S. Rustom said: "Assistant Chief Prosecutor Shehab Ahmad Mohammad concluded the investigation within two weeks after the case was referred by the police. The investigation revealed the victim was taken by surprise when he was attacked by a number of suspects in the parking lot.
"He was attacked with sharp tools including a sword. Gulum identified his attackers at the police line up. The mall's surveillance cameras also showed the assault. We have also issued arrest warrants against other suspects who were also involved in the case."
