Most parents would stop at nothing to ensure the safety of their children. Clearly, it was not the case when one Asian father has chosen to let her daughter drown and die rather than male rescuers in a Dubai beach touch her, and dishonor her in the process.
The father of the poor 20-year old girl, whose identity was withheld, tried mightily to prevent two lifeguards from having physical contact with her daughter because they were strange men, which eventually caused him to lose his child's life.
The man jostled and even got rough with the two lifeguards who happen to be in the scene, and came to rescue the drowning daughter, according to Lt. Col. Ahmed Burqibah, Deputy Director of Dubai Police's Search and Rescue Department.
"This is one of the incidents which I cannot forget," he told Emirates247. "It shocked me and many others who were involved in the case."
Recounting the story, the senior official said that the family involved in the incident were out in the beach having picnic that day. The children were swimming when the girl started shouting, apparently in distress.
Burqibah lamented that the girl was almost within reach for rescue, but the scuffle between the father and the lifeguards caused delay and, eventually, it was too late. He also pointed out that the man was tall and strong.
The father of the girl was later arrested and litigated by the Dubai authorities.
Meanwhile, another angle of the news surfaced claiming that the drowning incident was actually old news. According to an article from The Guardian, the incident took place back in 1996, and was only brought to light recently when lifeguards were asked to recall some of the most unusual things they ever encountered.