(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Four Asian women were arrested by the Dubai Police in connection with the case of a five-year-old boy left at a mall almost two weeks ago. One of those arrested was the woman who allegedly found the kid wandering outside Reef Mall in Deira, the authorities confirmed on Thursday.
The other three were held as accomplices for covering up and hiding the identity of the boy from the authorities.
Brigadier Ali Ghanem, director of Al Muraqabbat Police Station, said the woman brought the boy at the police station on September 7 and said that she did not know the kid.
The following day, on September 8, Dubai Police appealed to the public to help identify the boy. Khaleej Times published the story with high hopes that his parents would claim him.
After running an investigation and a series of DNA tests, however, the authorities discovered that boy's biological mother had abandoned him after giving birth back in 2014.
The police also found out that the story of the woman who claimed to have found the boy was just a cover up to lead the police into taking custody of the child.
Brig Ghanem explained that the boy's biological mother had returned to her home country after giving birth and the boy was then handed over to a friend who lived in Sharjah and raised the boy for five years.
"But the woman found it hard to continue supporting the boy as he is about to reach schooling age," added Ghanem.
A friend advised the woman to hand the boy to another lady who lives in Al Muteena.
The new foster mother kept the boy for some time until another friend came up with the idea of handing over the boy to the Al Muraqabbat Police Station, with an alibi that she was shopping and had found the boy near Reef Mall.
"The story that she (the fourth woman) found him was all fabricated," underlined Ghanem, adding: "All the four women were arrested and referred to Dubai Public Prosecution for legal action."
The biological mother, who allegedly fled to her home country, however, is still at large.
The police conducted a DNA test of the four women and found that none of them was the biological mother of the boy. There is also no information on who the father is.
The boy is currently under the protective custody of the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, as reported earlier by Khaleej Times.
NOTE TO READERS
In an endeavour to protect the identity of the child, Khaleej Times hasdecided to not publish the image of the boy . While we have published his image in our newspaper, website and social media pages when the story first broke, we understand that using the photo repeatedly may lead to a violation of his privacy, and may subject him to prejudice now and later.
At a time when the child has been shifted to the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children while authorities plan the future course of action, it's only prudent that responsible news organisations such as us refrain from using the boy's picture every time we have an update to share.
Our decision is in line with a call made by the UAE authorities to respect children's privacy, made at the'Responsible Media, Safe Child'session in a Child Safety Forum.
- Executive Editor
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