Man with HIV jailed for suicide attempt in UAE

Sharjah - Father blames it on bad company.

Keeping bad company can lead a person astray and ruin not just one's life but that of the family too.
Coaxed by his friends, a 27-year-old GCC national got hooked to drugs. When he discovered he had been infected with HIV, the depressed man tried to set himself ablaze in his room only to land in jail after being convicted of attempted suicide.  
Sentencing him to seven years in jail in absentia, the Sharjah Criminal Court pronounced its verdict even as the youth's father pleaded to dismiss the case against his son - while blaming bad company for his son's health catastrophe.   
The youth's father had submitted a report to the court that his son was admitted to Al Qasimi Hospital in Sharjah and that he was unable to move while suffering from epilepsy.
During a previous court hearing, the father had said that he called the police when he saw the fire. The young man had locked himself in the room, broken the furniture and set fire to the curtains. However, at that time, the father said he was not aware that his son had been diagnosed with HIV and he was mentally upset.
Acting on a call received at the operations room, the Sharjah Police and civil defence teams rushed to the site and found that the youth was sitting at a corner even as the fire was raging. The police broke open the door and rescued him from the blaze.
The man's father and the defence lawyer said that the young man was in a state of shock and depression after discovering his illness. Since HIV is a taboo, he felt devastated and decided to take his own life, they pointed out.   
The visibly shaken and sad father told Khaleej Times that his son was one of the best students when he was in high school, but he fell in bad company who forced him into drugs. He started staying out for long periods of time and travelled to undisclosed places, the father said.
He said that his son started staying aloof with his family when he joined university. He was brilliant and dreamt of becoming an engineer, but he digressed from his goal, the man added. "We were surprised to see him isolating himself, and turn hostile towards us without any reason. All his six siblings feel sad for what has happened to their brother."
He said earlier when he had reported about the fire to the police, he didn't know that his son was HIV-infected. Since he was angry with his child, he didn't even visit him in the prison as he wanted him to learn from his mistakes. But later when he went there, he was shocked to learn about his son's disease. He saw his son being taken to the hospital as he had an epilepsy attack. 
The father said his son's health is deteriorating fast. "I have informed the judiciary about his poor health condition and requested them to drop the case against him." The medical report showed that the young man infected HIV as he injected drugs.
amira@khaleejtimes.com 

• Sharjah