DUBAI // A policeman who hit a 10-year-old boy with his jet ski has been jailed for a year.
The American child, D?A, had joined his Dutch friend P?M's family for a day at sea in their new boat.
At about 6.30pm, the children jumped into the sea when P?M's father, J?P, saw a jet ski speeding towards them and yelled to them to get out of the way.
The American could not move in time and was hit at high speed, suffering severe fractures to the left side of his face.
The jet-ski driver, a 23-year-old Emirati policeman, had been operating the craft without registration.
The father said the officer sped off but returned moments later.
"When he saw D?A bleeding as I held him, he raised his hands and covered his face in a gesture indicating that a grave mishap had happened," said the father.
The boy was taken to Rashid Hospital in a critical condition. He underwent numerous operations to rebuild his face, and he is still unable to close his left eye or open his mouth more than 2.5 centimetres.
Dubai Court of Misdemeanours ordered the officer to pay Dh21,000 in temporary compensation to the boy's family.
