Father Arrested After Refusing to Let Lifeguards Save His Drowning Daughter

A man who stopped lifeguards from saving his drowning daughter, fearing she would be dishonored if strange men touched her, has been arrested and charged for his interference.

The man and his family were visiting a beach while vacationing in Dubai. When the man's 20-year-old daughter began drowning, two rescuers on the beach tried to help her, but were prevented by her father.

According to Lt. Col Ahmed Burqibah, Deputy Director of Dubai Police’s Search and Rescue Department, the father became violent with the two lifeguards, and the delay resulted in the death of his daughter.

"The father was a tall and strong man," Lt. Col. Burqibah told news site Emirates 24/7. "He started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them. He told them that he prefers his daughter being dead than being touched by a strange man.”

“This is one of the incidents which I cannot forget. It shocked me and many others who were involved in the case," he added.

Lt. Col. Burqibah told reporters the man has been "prosecuted and sued by the concerned authorities," but did not say what, if any, punishment the man will face.