Sharjah: Parents quizzed after son falls to death from high-rise building

  SHARJAH – The parents of a 4-year-old boy who fell to his death from a building in Sharjah are being questioned on suspicion of negligence, police said on Tuesday (June 14). The Algerian boy died on the spot after falling from the 18th floor of a building in Sharjah’s Al Buhairah area on Monday night. Police said that the boy was left unattended and had climbed onto furniture and fell from the window of the apartment. The incident is the latest in a series of fatal falls by children from high-rise residential buildings in the UAE. Authorities have issued new safety rules and in February, the Sharjah Police warned parents that they can be held criminally liable if found that their child died due to negligence. Colonel Khalifa Kalander, Director of Comprehensive Police Stations at Sharjah Police, had told media that cases involving people who fall from buildings are referred to the public prosecution, which will decide on the case. Under UAE laws, endangering the life of a child below 15 years of age can invite a penalty of one month to two years’ imprisonment. If the child is left unattended, the penalty is five years in jail. ICA/Expat Media