Five hotel employees have received fines and suspended sentences in connection with the tragic drowning of a young Emirati girl in the hotel’s pool. The incident occurred at a hotel located in Al Barsha Heights on August 2nd last year when a three-year-old girl gained access to an unattended adult swimming pool.
Court records from Dubai unveiled a chilling detail – for a harrowing six minutes, no one within the vicinity noticed the child’s absence. The defendants, hailing from Lebanon, Canada, Cameroon, and Uganda, encompassing the hotel’s manager and two lifeguards, faced legal repercussions in the form of a two-month suspended jail sentence and a fine of Dh10,000 each, as they were found to have played a role in the unfortunate demise of the child.
Initially, the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors had also ruled for the deportation of the defendants. However, this decision was subsequently overturned by the Court of Appeal. Additionally, the Court of Appeal ordered the group to collectively provide Dh200,000 in compensation to the grieving family of the deceased girl.
During the proceedings, the girl’s father, whose identity remained undisclosed to safeguard the family’s privacy, recounted the events of that fateful day. He described how the hotel was bustling with guests when he entrusted his wife with overseeing their children, around 4 p.m., as he ventured to the adult pool for a brief moment. His son’s panicked approach shortly afterward, conveying the tragic news of his sister’s demise, left him shattered.
Investigations into the incident revealed that several safety regulations set by Dubai Municipality were breached, contributing to the tragedy. Notably, the absence of a barrier separating the children’s play area from the adult pool and a lack of clear signage indicating the pool’s depth were identified as violations. An inspector who examined the accident site affirmed that these lapses in safety regulations played a pivotal role in the child’s untimely death.
CCTV footage showed one of the lifeguards engaged in conversation with guests at the very moment the child drowned.
The five employees vehemently denied these charges throughout the proceedings.
