DUBAI // Three teenagers and a young man face charges of attempted murder after a brutal attack in which 15-year-old boy was stabbed with a sword and suffered a skull fracture and broken legs.
FS, an Iraqi, was attacked in a sand lot in Rashidiya last month after being contacted by a 13-year-old boy, whom he knew, asking where he was.
Shortly afterwards his attackers arrived in a car with concealed licence plates, cornered him in the sand lot, stabbed him with a sword and beat him with metal bars.
A police officer witnessed the assault and intervened and the gang, aged between 13 and 20, were in custody within hours, Col Saleh al Rahoomi, the chief of Rashidiya Police Station, said yesterday.
FS was taken to Rashid Hospital, where he underwent surgery in which a metal plate was inserted in his fractured skull.
"According to investigations, the assailants claim that the victim has spoken ill of them. They have been referred to public prosecution to face charges of attempted murder," Col al Rahoomi said.
"The assailants are Sharjah residents while the victim is from al Muhaisna district, and it was revealed that they have had previous arguments."
Two weeks ago Ministry of Interior officials said a new "cold weapons" law and a federal juvenile criminal law were being drafted to counter trends in youth violence and the use of knives and swords.
The proposals include the regulation of when children under 15 could go out alone, deterring children from buying items that could be used as weapons, and care for runaway children, Hussein al Shawab from the Ministry of Social Affairs social protection unit said.
“An example of the proposed law amendment for juveniles is Article 13, which states that children under the age of 15 are not allowed to be on their own or with out supervision after dark. Also, children under that age are not allowed to go to suspicious areas where adult activities are undertaken,” he said.
“The cold weapons law being drafted is different from the firearms law. This will be a separate one dealing directly with dual-use items that can be used as weapons, as well as the juvenile law, which is also going to be separate,” Maj Turki al Dahoori from the Ministry of Interior said. “We are also specifying what are cold weapons.”
More than 900 such weapons have been seized at border crossings already this year. according to statistics revealed last month by the Dubai Customs Director General Ahmed Butti.
“We take any case involving cold weapons and assaults very seriously, and we have confiscated a large number of illegal weapons in campaigns launched in the area,” Col al Rahoomi said yesterday.
