Man charged for molesting woman pleads for acquittal

[shahul]

DUBAI - The legal counsel of a Pakistani mechanic, accused of molesting a Filipina, pleaded for the acquittal of his client on Tuesday.

The case had come up for hearing at the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance. The defendant, 24, is charged with molesting the Filipina after giving her lift in his car on May 29 this year.

“The woman willingly agreed to sit in the car. She sat on the front seat and while travelling, she even put her hand on his back. He was supposed to drop her at the Creek Park. I believe the road would have been very busy at that time of the day,” the Pakistani mechanic’s advocate, Ayoub Ghazi, argued in the court, and wondered why the victim did not try to escape or seek others’ help.

“There is no way an act of molestation could have taken place on a congested Al Garhoud Bridge, as the woman claims,” the counsel said, while pointing out that there were no eyewitnesses to support the statements of the woman.

“The testimonies of the witnesses in this case are based on what they heard from the victim, rather than on what they saw,” he argued.

The accused has already pleaded not guilty to molesting the Filipina. He claimed he had consensual sex with her. In her statement, the 27-year-old woman said the accused had given her lift in his car promising to drop her to her destination.

She said she had been waiting for a cab in Satwa when the accused stopped his car near her. She alleged that he offered her money for having sex with him, and instead of heading towards the Creek Park, her workplace, he took the car in the direction towards Deira. Later, he parked his car on the highway and molested her, the woman alleged.

‘Molestation complaint is malicious’

A PALESTINIAN visitor facing molestation charges became very emotional in the court and was almost on the verge of breaking down when his case came up for hearing at the Criminal Court of First Instance on Tuesday. When confronted by Presiding Judge Saeed Sarm, the 24-year-old defendant denied having molested an American woman visitor.

While pleading for his acquittal, he told the court: “This is a malicious complaint. I had just met the woman. It’s true I accompanied the woman in the elevator but I did not do anything.”

As per the court records, the case dates back to June 18 this year, and the incident allegedly happened at International City in Rashidiya. The 24-year-old American visitor of Arab origin lodged a complaint with the Dubai Police, alleging she had been molested by the accused.

“I met the accused in a supermarket. It was about 10.45pm and I was buying some groceries. A bottle of water I was holding fell off my hand.

The man picked it up, and that’s how we met.” She said she was surprised to see the suspect following her to the lift of her building. “He entered the lift after me and hugged and kissed me against my will. The whole thing happened within seconds and he ran away so fast.”

The police nabbed him from the supermarket where he was buying some items. The court will pronounce its verdict in the case on September 16.

No gambling den

A 45-YEAR-OLD Pakistani worker pleaded not guilty to the charges of running a gambling den. The case came up for hearing at the Criminal Court of First Instance on Wednesday.

The defendant is accused of running a gambling den from his room on the roof-top of a building in Naif area. As per court records, the police had received tip-off about the gambling activities going on in the Naif building.

A police officer testified they had raided the suspect’s room on June 5 this year, and held the accused along with other men. Verdict is e x p e c t e d o n S e p t e m b e r 1 4 .



mary@khaleejtimes.com