Dubai: The parents of a 6-year-old boy have been questioned by Dubai Police over his alleged torture, after the child's school raised the alarm.
The school informed Dubai Police the boy was allegedly tortured by his parents for being a ‘naughty child’.
The school also said the boy, a Gulf national, was being starved by his parents as a punishment, according to Brig Dr Mohammad Al Murr, Director of the Human Rights Department at Dubai Police.
“The school noticed signs of violence on the body of the pupil and signs of burns on his foot despite the boy being a clever student. We started the investigation and summoned the boy and his parents,” Brigadier Al Murr said.
The Women and Children section of the Human Rights Department spoke with the child, who claimed he was being physically assaulted, tied up and starved by his parents.
“He is a smart boy and told us what happened. His parents tortured him despite his mother being a teacher in a different school," Brigadier Al Murr added.
“However, his parents denied torturing him, but the mother said sometimes she uses force to discipline him because he is a hyper child and always tells others about what happens inside the house."
He said the mother denied starving her son, but said she was preventing him from over-eating because.
The case was referred to Dubai Public Prosecution to complete the investigation. Dubai Police made a study about the incident and sent it to Community Development Institute to monitor the behaviour of the parents.
“We made the parents sign a document that they won’t hurt the boy anymore until a decision is issued by the court. We have a team cooperating with the school to check the condition of the child too,” Brigadier Al Murr added.
The department said they had 29 cases of children suffering physical assault, violence, and negligence in the first half of 2017.
