An Arab mother in Ras Al Khaimah is refusing to have back her son who she abandoned nearly 16 years ago, leaving an Emirati man to have custody and look after the boy all that time after losing track of his father.

The Emirati, who had offered to take care of the boy when he was born, told court this week he would like his mother to have him back so he can look after his own children, Alkhaleej newspaper said.

The Emirati, described by the paper as a benevolent person, told the judge that the circumstances which prompted him to take custody of the boy, no longer exist after he grew up and became a teen ager.

It said the unnamed man went to court after the boy’s mother refused to have him back while he still can not find his father.

“The boy himself is shocked…he apparently had not expected that Emirati man who had looked after him since his birth, to be more compassionate and affectionate that his own parents who abandoned him when he was a little baby and who still do not want to see him 16 years after deserting him,” it said.

The paper said the court would hear the case this month and a lawyer to the Emirati said he hoped the mother would agree to have her son back.