Dubai: A man, who was slapped by a secretary when he groped her while she climbed the stairs up to her house, has been jailed for three months.
In March, the 25-year-old Filipina secretary slapped the 32-year-old Indian man hard when he groped her top while she was taking the stairs to go to her flat in a building where she lives in Al Satwa. When the man took to his heels, the woman chased him and sought the help of pedestrians to catch him as he ran out of the building and on to the street.The defendant was restrained and prevented from running away. Soon after the police arrived and took him into custody.
On Monday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of groping the woman although he had pleaded not guilty.
Presiding judge Urfan Omar said the defendant will be deported following the completion of his jail term.
The accused contended that he had slipped and lost his balance and ‘unintentionally and mistakenly’ touched the secretary.
The 25-year-old woman said she was climbing up the stairs of the building where she lives, while the defendant was climbing down the stairs.
“He stood sideways because the staircase is very narrow … once I reached near him, he groped me from the right. I turned around quickly and slapped him hard. He pushed my hand away and ran down. I cried for help and some pedestrians helped me to get hold of him,” she testified.
The accused admitted to prosecutors that he was heavily drunk when the incident happened.
He was quoted as saying that he was jobless and had been drinking at his house and when he went out and saw the woman, he molested her.
A policeman said pedestrians had already restrained the suspect once they arrived at the scene.
“The woman was crying and the defendant seemed drunk. Upon confronting him, he denied having molested the woman,” the policeman testified.
Monday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
