Canadian mum 'defamed' Dubai nursery school, court hears

Mother of a nursery school pupil is accused of fabricating an assault to scandalise the kindergarten.

DUBAI // The mother of a nursery school pupil who complained that a teacher beat her son appeared in court yesterday accused of defamation.

“I did not mean to scandalise the nursery,” D?S, a 34-year-old Canadian housewife, told the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours.

The JBR resident said she had visited the Jumeirah International Nursery School on January 23 this year and as she stood behind the door to her three-year-old son’s class, she saw his teacher hitting him on the head.

She said she complained to the school’s management.

“I noticed they were trying to cover up what happened so I took my son out of there, then sent an email to other parents informing them that their children were not safe in that place,” she said.

Her email, with the subject line ‘[My son] was struck on the head by Ms [M]’, was sent to 14 other parents and the management of the nursery.

It warned that the teacher who hit her son “struck once and she will strike again”.

“I urge you all to ask the school to replace Ms [M] as your children’s safety is at stake,” it added.

The woman signed off by saying the incident must not be taken lightly and that she would be contacting the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA) and the media.

The woman told prosecutors that she informed the MSA because she "did not know that I could report the nursery to police".
"I'm sorry but I did not know that warning others was against the law," she added.

S?S, a 46-year-old Indian man and a partner in the nursery, reported the mother to police on January 29, complaining that he had been defamed by the email.

“We investigated the incident and there was no assault on her son,” he said.

The next hearing was scheduled for November 4.

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