Dubai A salon worker has been jailed for three months for lying under oath and falsely reporting to Dubai prosecutors that her boss had molested her colleague.
The 23-year-old Filipina salon worker and her four countrywomen colleagues had lied to an investigating prosecutor when they falsely claimed that their employer molested one of them and encouraged them to indulge in sexual activities in May 2015.
The Dubai Court of First Instance had sentenced the five Filipinas in absentia earlier to three months in jail for giving a false statement.
The 23-year-old surrendered herself and requested a retrial, during which she was found guilty. Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused will be deported after serving her punishment. The defendant had pleaded innocent.
The salon’s supervisor testified that the incident happened after she returned from annual leave.
“I had been working for the employer for 11 years. When I returned from my annual leave, I was shocked to know about the case. What the defendants [five Filipinas] had claimed during the investigation is absolutely unfounded and untrue. He is a decent and good boss. On the contrary he is so humane and constantly helps people and especially his staff. He once paid for the medication of one of the defendants. They [defendants] never complained that our boss had molested any of them. Before I went on leave, the defendants told me that they wanted to return to the Philippines … I asked them to wait until my return to discuss the matter. They had decided in advance to bring such malicious claims against the boss because they wanted to return home. I had earlier met one of the defendants in the Philippines where she told me that she suffers from tuberculosis. She tampered with her medical papers so she could come to the UAE and work here. When she arrived, she was told that she had to undergo new medical tests … that’s when she alleged that the boss had molested her,” the supervisor said.
The five Filipinas admitted to prosecutors that they lied under oath and gave a false testimony [against the boss].
The four remaining defendants are entitled a retrial.
Sunday’s ruling [against the 23-year-old] remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
