Mother of Sharjah toddler killed in apartment fall charged with negligence

Investigators believe toddler fell eight floors after slipping on a chair near a window

Sharjah's high rise skyline at dusk. Parental negligence is under scrutiny after a series of tragedies involving fells from balconies and windows. Reem Mohammed / The National

A mother has been charged with negligence after her daughter, 2, fell to her death from an eighth-floor flat in Sharjah.

The tragedy unfolded on Monday afternoon when the toddler is believed to have climbed on to a chair near a window before slipping.

It is suspected the girl was left in the apartment alone.

Her mother, 20, returned and realised her daughter was missing.

This is a child's life we are talking about and it is our responsibility to look after them, to raise them in a safe environment

After seeing the open window she peered out to see a crowd gathered around the child’s body below.

The incident is the second such tragedy in the UAE this week. On Sunday, another child fell to her death from a ninth floor balcony in Dubai.

Police believe the Sharjah girl, from Sudan, was asleep when her mother left the flat in Al Nahda to pick up her other children from school.

“Initial investigations suggest the girl went out to the balcony to look for her mother,” a police official said.

“When she saw her on the pavement walking towards the building’s entrance she leaned over to look at her stepping inside. She lost balance and fell.”

The mother has been summoned for questioning at Al Qusais police station and released on bail.

Earlier, Moza Al Shoomi, deputy head of Emirates Child Protection Association, said parents, building owners and municipal authorities needed to be held to account for such accidents.

"We can't blame the chair or the window for their deaths," Ms Al Shoomi told The National.

“The ones who should be held responsible are the parents or caregivers who left the children unattended, building owners who didn’t implement safety measures, and the municipalities for not making sure that the safety measures are being implemented.

“This is a child’s life we are talking about and it is our responsibility to look after them, to raise them in a safe environment.”

The UAE's 2016 child protection law says parents or caregivers are prohibited from leaving a child without supervision.

Breaking the law can lead to imprisonment or a fine of not less than Dh5,000.

Two further fall deaths were reported in the past week, a 16-year-old who fell from the window of a sixth floor apartment in Umm Al Quwain and a 15-year-old who fell from the 10th floor of a building in Sharjah. Police believe both teenagers took their own lives, but investigations are ongoing.