Fine of AED 5,000 and jail for leaving children unattended in cars

Parents will be prosecuted for negligence

Leaving children unattended in vehicles is a crime under UAE laws and punishable with a hefty fine and even imprisonment, legal experts have reiterated. This came as authorities highlighted a recent case where the police rescued a child who got locked in a car as his mother went shopping.

Abdal Meged Al Sweedy, senior associate, Galadari Advocates and Legal Consultants, told Khaleej Times that the practice comes under ‘negligence’. He said the offence is punishable with a fine of up to Dh5,000 and imprisonment.

Youssef Khallaf, another senior associate, said in some instances, the fine can go as high as Dh10,000.

Captain Mohammed Hamad Al Isai, director of Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate, had said recently that the practice exposes the lives of children to danger. Parents who leave their children behind in parked cars will be prosecuted for negligence, he stressed.

He referred to a tragic incident of a child who suffocated to death in the sweltering heat when his father forgot him inside the car. He said the father, who was busy attending to a work-related phone call throughout the trip, had forgotten the child, who was sleeping, when he stepped out and locked the car after reaching home.

The Dubai Police said recently that they rescued 36 children from locked vehicles since the beginning of the year.

News Source: Khaleej Times