SHARJAH // The grief-stricken family of a Jordanian boy, 8, whose body was dumped by the side of a Dubai road, have called for his killer to die.
The body of Obaida Ibrahim Al Aqrabawi was found on Sunday morning under a tree on Academic City Road in Al Warqa. He had been strangled and there were signs of sexual assault.
A Jordanian man, 48, was arrested that day and is in custody.
The boy went missing on Friday night from outside his family home in Sharjah Industrial Area.
His father, Ibrahim Sidqi Al Aqrabawi, who works in a garage in the same building as their home, has been inconsolable since police told him his only son was dead, said Obaida’s aunt Ahood. She said the family wanted the death penalty for the killer.
“This is a monster killing a child while looking at his innocent eyes,” she said.
“This person is not a human, animals are more humane. We want him executed, this is all we ask for. This is his punishment, God willing.
“If I could execute him with my bare hands I would.”
The family wants to bury Obaida as soon as his body is released by police.
“We still don’t have Obaida with us so we don’t know when the funeral will be,” said Mr Sadki, although the aunt hoped that arrangements could be made today.
“We hope that the funeral is today, once the procedures are done with the police and the hospital,” said Ahood. “We are not sure where it will be, but we will take him to the mosque and then for burial.”
Obaida, who had two sisters, was in the Grade 2 at the Al Jeel Al Jadeed private school in Sharjah.
The school posted a tribute to him on its Facebook page, saying: “With hearts faithful in God’s justice and strength. With grief and sadness, the Al Jeel Al Jadeed family offers its condolences to our school’s loss, the student Obaida Ibrahim Sadki.”
Maj Gen Khalil Al Mansouri, assistant commander of Dubai CID, said the suspect, an acquaintance of Obaida’s father, told investigators that he lured the boy into his car on Friday at 7pm by promising to buy him a scooter.
“He went to Al Mamzar in a car that he had borrowed from his building’s watchman, then parked the car and started to drink alcohol,” Gen Al Mansouri said.
“The man told the nine-year-old to undress, but the child resisted and told the man he would tell his father, at which point the suspect tried to stop the child from screaming and strangled him.”
Gen Al Mansouri said the man left the boy’s body in the back seat of the car and continued to drink until 5am, when he went back to his home in Sharjah.
At 7am, he went to Academic City and dumped the body, and items used in the crime.
Maj Gen Khamis Al Muzeina, chief of Dubai Police, said the child had been dead for less than 24 hours when the body was found.
“There were signs of struggle on the boy’s chest and hands as well as signs that he had been sexually assaulted,” Gen Al Muzeina said. “Within two hours of receiving the call we were able to locate the suspect.”
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
