Dubai court fines European man ₹24,000 for slapping 2-year-old boy in shopping mall play area

According to a report by Gulf News, the incident occurred in October last year when an Asian man filed a complaint alleging that a European man in his 60s had assaulted his toddler son. The father said he was alerted by his child’s cries from the play zone and rushed to the spot, where his son pointed at the accused.

In the complaint, the Asian man said that initially, the man appeared to ignore him, but moments later, he allegedly approached the child again and slapped him. The boy fell and hit a nearby wall, sustaining minor bruises and becoming visibly distressed, the father said in his complaint.

What did the defendant say?

The European man, however, denied assaulting the child. He told authorities that he merely tried to move the boy away from his daughter, who he claimed had been repeatedly disturbing his daughter. He insisted that any physical contact was accidental and alleged that the boy’s father had, in fact, assaulted him afterwards.

While the medical report revealed no visible injuries on the child, the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours ruled that the absence of marks did not mean no assault had taken place. The court observed that the defendant’s act of striking the child was intentional and carried out by free will, constituting a punishable offence under UAE law.

The court found the European man guilty of assault and imposed a fine of Dh1,000.

(Also Read: IIT Madras alumnus dies of heart attack in UAE hours after wife and son fly back to Kerala)

Similar incident

In a similar ruling last month, the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court fined a man Dh100,000 for verbally and physically assaulting a child in public. According to court documents, the defendant insulted and struck the minor while also making obscene gestures. The court noted that the incident left the child with both physical injuries and emotional scars.