An innocent and supposed-to-be fun beach trip became a disaster, further aggravated by honor.
A 20-year-old woman reportedly drowned after her father stopped rescuers from getting to her and pulling her to safety ashore.
Emirates 24/7 reports that the father believes that if the rescuers touched her, it would dishonor her. The rescuers were two male lifeguards who were on duty when the girl drowned.
It seemed that to the father, her honor was more important than her life.
Lt. Col. Ahmed Burqibah, deputy director of Dubai Police's Search and Rescue Department said, "This is one of the incidents which I cannot forget."
"It shocked me and many others who were involved in the case," he added.
"The Asian father took his wife and kids to the beach for picnic and fun," he said. "The kids were swimming in the beach, when, suddenly, the 20-year-old girl started drowning and screaming for help.
"Two rescue men were at the beach, and they rushed to help the girl," Lt. Col. Burqibah continues. "However, there was one obstacle which prevented them from reaching the girl and helping her."
"This obstacle was the belief of this Asian man who considered that if these men touched his daughter, then this would dishonour her. It cost him the life of his daughter," he adds.
Lt. Col. Burqibah said that the father put on a struggle against the lifeguards. "He started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them," he said. "He told them [the lifeguards] that he prefers his daughter being dead than being touched by a strange man."
The father put on a fight. "The father was a tall and strong man," Lt. Col. Burqibah adds.
Of course, the struggle delayed the rescuers, which resulted in the untimely death of the daughter.
"She died unfortunately, at a time when she had a chance to live, especially that the rescue men were so close to her to pull her out of the water," Lt. Col. Burqibah said.
Later, the father was arrested by Dubai Police for stopping the rescuers from doing their job -- saving his daughter's life.
"He was prosecuted and sued by the concerned authorities," Lt. Col. Burqibah said.
People who heard the news gave their sentiments in response to a tweet by the AFP.
@AFP Shocking! Wonder why didn't father attempt rescue?
— LizB (@lizzyb1312) August 10, 2015
@AFP Their kind of law and justice.
— James Fern (@fernz_james) August 10, 2015
The daughter might have held her honor, but everyone is now looking at the man who made a dishonorable choice.
