The man was arrested following the tragic incident in Dubai
A young Asian woman drowned after her father allegedly prevented Dubai lifeguards from coming to the rescue because that would “dishonor” her, Emirati news media reported Monday.
Emirates 24/7 reported that Dubai police arrested the unnamed man.
When two lifeguards tried to help the drowning 20-year-old, her father “started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them,” it reported.
“He told them that he prefers his daughter being dead than being touched by a strange man,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Burqibah, deputy director of Dubai police’s search and rescue department.
The Asian man “considered that if these men touched his daughter, then this would dishonor her,” Burqibah said, quoted by the website.
He added: “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.
“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.”
Dubai police later arrested the father for having blocked rescue teams from doing their job and saving his daughter’s life.