Worker accused of kidnapping boy, 4

The accused said he had been moving the boy to safety and away from a nearby construction site

A man has denied kidnapping a boy, 4, from a Dubai playground and said he had only been moving the child to safety. 

The Indian man, 32, who was drunk at the time of the incident on February 21, allegedly snatched the boy from a playground near a building under construction in Al Barsha.

"I was walking towards my nephew when the accused picked him up and pressed the boy's face against his chest to stop his screams and ran. I shouted at him to stop but he didn't listen," said the boy's Tunisian aunt.

She said she was 100 meters away when the boy was taken. Her screams alerted a security guard who followed her as she chased the accused. When the two drew near, the man put the boy down.

"The terrified boy ran towards me. I asked the defendant why he did that but he couldn't answer, he was drunk," she said.

A woman who was at the playground with her children witnessed the incident and called police. She said the man ran away before police arrived but was apprehended later the same day.

During police questioning, the accused denied grabbing the boy, and said he had only tried to move him to safety away from a nearby construction site. 

He denied a kidnapping charge in court on Sunday morning.

A verdict will be issued on May 21.