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Justice done in girl's death on Abu Dhabi school bus

Abu Dhabi - Attendant, school supervisor, bus driver get jail term for three years, Dh20,000 fine; owner of transport company to pay Dh500,000 fine.

Published: Tue 10 Feb 2015, 1:32 AM

Updated: Thu 8 Sep 2022, 3:34 PM

  • By
  • Nissar Hoath & Olivia Olarte-ulherr

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Justice was served in a tragic case of negligence which claimed the life of four-year-old Nizaha Aalaa last October and shocked the nation. A court in Abu Dhabi on Sunday found four men guilty and handed them jail terms ranging from six months to three years. They were also fined between Dh20,000 and Dh500,000.

The Abu Dhabi Misdemeanors Court ordered the attendant, (the prime accused), school supervisor and the bus driver to three years each in jail and each to pay a fine of Dh20,000.

Another accused, the owner of the transport company, was asked to serve six months in jail for endangering students' lives and fined Dh500,000 for employing unlicensed and poorly trained employees.

The court also fined the school Dh50,000 for causing the death of the student, and Dh100,000 on the second count, for putting a pupil's life at risk. The court further ordered the school shut down.

Nizaha was a KG1 student of Al Warood Academy. She died of heat exhaustion and suffocation inside her school bus due to the negligence of the men, the court concluded.

The incident happened on October 7 last year when the attendant and the driver dropped off the other students at the school without realising the little girl was sleeping on a rear seat of the bus. The bus was later parked in the parking area.

In the afternoon, she was found dead when students lined up to get on to the bus to be dropped home.

According to the verdict, the court also ordered the attendant, school supervisor and the bus driver to pay blood money (diya) to parents of the victim. The court said the accused could appeal against the ruling under the judicial system of the country.

During investigation by the public prosecution, the school bus driver admitted he found the body of the girl sprawled at the back of the bus, near the exit door, at 11.40am on that fateful day.

Forensics reports showed that the young victim was alone in the school bus; she cried out for help till she was exhausted and collapsed from the heat. The child, the report said, suffered "severe respiration difficulty" and a "sharp drop in blood pressure", which eventually took her life.

Reacting to the verdict, Nizaha's father Nazir Ahmed said: "This is a correct decision but I cannot say I am happy or sad because ... we cannot get back ... what we lost; we are not going to get back Nizaha. The aim now is to not let this happen to others and that this should serve as a lesson."

Ahmed, who attended all hearings of his daughter's case, expressed relief at the decision, but said the feeling of loss would linger in the family for a long time.

His wife Nabila was "slowly recovering" from the shock of losing their youngest daughter. "She visits her grave every week," he said.

Many parents said only trained school supervisors, attendants and driver should be recruited after passing training programmes.

"I welcome the verdict of the court. In fact, I wish they were given severe punishment. Most of the school staff members, including bus drivers, are untrained to transport students. The local authorities should come up with a policy where only qualified and well trained, including supervisors, attendants, drivers, and even teachers should be employed in schools," said Amna Ahmed, a housewife.



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