A woman in Abu Dhabi was convicted of child neglect after allowing a young girl to remain alone on a beach late at night and failing to adequately monitor her social media activity.

The Court of First Instance initially sentenced the woman to two months of community service, but the penalty was changed on appeal to a fine of AED 3,000. The UAE Federal Supreme Court later overturned the ruling and referred the case back to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration.

Case details and charges against the woman

Prosecutors said the woman had failed to take the necessary measures to safeguard the child’s moral well-being.

According to the charges, the young girl had also used a social media platform inappropriately, resulting in her photographs being circulated among other people.

Prosecutors referred the woman to the criminal court under Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 on Child Rights, commonly known as Wadeema’s Law.

She was charged with failing to provide the necessary care and supervision for the child, both while the girl was alone on the beach late at night and while she was using social media.

Community service replaced with AED 3,000 fine

After reviewing the case, the Court of First Instance found the woman guilty and sentenced her to two months of community service and ordered her to pay legal costs.

The woman appealed the judgment, and the case was referred to the Federal Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal revoked the community service sentence and instead fined the woman AED 3,000.

Following the ruling, the woman also challenged its enforcement, but the court declared her challenge inadmissible and ordered her to pay legal costs.

The Prosecutor General subsequently challenged the Court of Appeal’s ruling before the Federal Supreme Court.

The Prosecutor General argued that replacing community service with a fine had worsened the defendant’s position and increased her punishment, contrary to the law.

UAE Federal Supreme Court ruling

The Federal Supreme Court upheld the Prosecutor General’s challenge, stressing that only the woman had appealed the initial judgment, while the prosecution had not challenged it.

Under Article 241 of the UAE Criminal Procedure Law, when an appeal is filed solely by a convicted person, the court may not amend the judgment in a way that is detrimental to that person.

The Supreme Court judges ruled that, in this case, the AED 3,000 fine constituted a harsher penalty than two months of community service.

Because the prosecution had not appealed the initial judgment, the Court of Appeal was not permitted to increase the woman’s punishment.

The Federal Supreme Court ultimately overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling and referred the case back to the same court for reconsideration and a fresh assessment of the sentence.

The ruling underlines a key principle of criminal procedure: an appeal by a convicted person must not result in a harsher sentence when that person is the only party challenging the judgment.