Dubai Police have urged the public regarding the dangers of leaving their kids unattended in locked cars after police officials rescued 36 children from vehicles during January to August 2022.
The life of children is at risk if they are left unattended in vehicles, particularly in the summer season when temperatures rise above 40°C, police said.
The children were rescued by officials of the Land Rescue Department at Dubai Police, stated the officers on Monday, August 22.
The director of the security awareness department at Dubai Police, Butti Al Felasi, stated that the guardians of the children should not leave their cars open outside their homes to prevent kids from going inside and locking themselves unknowingly.
He added that leaving kids alone in cars or any place is very dangerous, and parents must not do that, not even when they go shopping or a short stop at some place.
He asked parents, particularly mothers, who drive their children to camps, schools and entertainment activities to look out for them before leaving.
He stated that studies show that temperatures in locked vehicles under the sun can touch 70°C, which can result in the child’s death.
Parents who put their child’s life at risk by leaving them alone in a locked car could also face a fine of around Dh1 million ($272,295) and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
During the first eight months of this year, Dubai Police rescued 36 children who were in locked cars alone.
Earlier, in 2019, the body of a minor boy, aged 6, was found in a school bus in Dubai after he was left alone amid rising summer temperatures.
In Sharjah also, a two-year-old boy was left unattended in the car by his father and had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment of a severe heart attack.