Women involved in case of boy found in mall could get jail in Dubai

Dubai - All five women put the boy's life in danger and shall be held legally accountable, according to a local lawyer.

Egyptian lawyer Hani Hammouda of Kefah Al Zaabi Firm for Advocacy and Legal Consultancy told Khaleej Times that all the four women might be considered as accomplices to the biological mother of the abandoned child. Whatever penalties she might face, they would face the same."
"They covered up what she did for five years. They did not report the initial crime that she committed. Having illicit sex and giving birth to a love child possibly, and abandoning her son."
According to Hammouda, the child could well be illegitimate. "If he was born out of a marriage, then his birth certificate and documents should be available. His father will be known. But that is not probably the case.
"The four women protected her (the biological mother) and helped her evade justice. They should have reported her to the authorities here for abandoning her son and leaving him behind for five years. The police also look into the biological mother's personal data and seek to arrest her," the lawyer pointed out.
All five women put the boy's life in danger and shall be held legally accountable, according to Hammouda. "Article 349 of the Federal Penal Code says 'anyone who puts the life of a juvenile under 15 at risk should be jailed for a maximum of two years. He or she shall receive the same sentence if the act is done through a third party and to a person unable to protect himself/herself due to a health, mental or physical condition".
"The penalty is a jail term if the minor or the person who is unable to protect himself is left or abandoned at an isolate location.
"If the abandonment leads to the victim's disability or death - unintentionally - then the penalty should be the same of assault leading to permanent disability or death; a crime that can bear a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The same penalty shall apply if the risk factor was by intentionally depriving the minor of nutrition or proper care which is the defendant's obligation.
Article 350 says: A person shall be jailed for up to three years and/or slapped with a fine that is no more than Dh10,000 for putting the life of a child under seven at risk. The same penalty shall apply if the crime is done through a third party.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

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