Police help rehabilitate girl addicted to PlayStation

dubai — In an unusual case, the Dubai Police have helped rehabilitate a 14-year-old girl from her addiction to PlayStation games, which made her behave in a violent manner.

The girl is reported to have tried to physically hurt her father. The Dubai Police received a call from Rashid Hospital about the girl — from a GCC country — who displayed very violent tendencies, making it difficult for the medical staff to deal with her.

Lt Col Rashid Al Falasi, director of the crime monitoring department of the Dubai Police, said their victim care official went to the hospital and tried to talk to the girl, who was visibly disturbed and also talked in an aggressive manner to him.

The girl’s parents confirmed that she had heavily addicted to the games and started exhibiting the violent and abusive actions shown in the games, in real-life. She even tried to assault her father with a knife. After her family tried to help her, to no avail, they took her to the hospital.

Lt Col Al Falasi pointed out that the victim care team and specialist doctors held psychological and awareness sessions for the girl and her family. The parents were advised not to allow her to watch video games and turn her attention to creative and productive activities and introduce her to new hobbies. The teenager was also counselled about the seriousness of the issue, as it could lead her to indulge in violent or criminal behaviour later, if left unchecked.

Following up on the case, the police learnt that the girl’s condition has improved considerably after her daily routines were changed.

amira@khaleejtimes.com