Driver faces death for running over child in UAE

The Appellate Court in Abu Dhabi  has awarded death sentence to an Asian taxi driver for fatally running over a 12-year-old Arab child.

According to a report in Emarat Al Youm, he reportedly chased a group of children in Al Musaffah area, Abu Dhabi, and deliberately ran over the child.

Court records detailing the case says that he was angry after the children disturbed him while he was sitting in his car and so he took after them.

Meanwhile, the kids testified that while the suspect was sitting in the taxi, they did make fun of him by throwing rubbish inside the vehicle. They also clarified that the deceased child had not taken part in the act.

The suspect, initially told the courts that he did rush towards the group of children at a speed of 40kmph, but had unintentionally ran over one of them.

However, technical evidence contradicted his statements because the site examination confirmed that the run-over was deliberate. He had intentionally swerved towards the group as the area is not paved for vehicles.

According to Public Prosecution records, he ran after the children after they disturbed him while he was in the car, but he failed to catch any of them. So he returned to his car. About 15 minutes later he happened to see them playing at a nearby sandy area and sped towards them, running over the victim.

Forensic reports confirm that the child died of a critical injury in the head, which fractured the skull and caused bleeding.

Earlier, the case was brought back by the Court of Cassation, which rejected a verdict issued by the Criminal Court and was supported by the Appeals Court.

He was sentenced to 15 years to be followed by deportation and ordered to pay a diya of Dh200,000.

He was also ordered to pay a temporary compensation of Dh21,000 to the plaintiffs. But all these terms were cancelled by the Appellate Court, and replaced by death sentence.

He is now convicted of running over the child deliberately leading to his death, in addition to endangering lives of three other children.
 

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