Dubai A worker has been jailed for groping a teenager while she was out shopping with her mother at Dragon Mart.
The 36-year-old Pakistani worker, M.N., walked behind the 13-year-old Emirati teenager and touched her back indecently in July.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted M.N. of groping the girl despite having entered an innocent plea and accused the teenager of lying about being molested.
“I did not touch her at all. She claimed that I took snapshots of her with my mobile phone. That was not true and when I told her that I did not take pictures of her, she claimed to her mother that I molested her,” M.N. argued in court.
Presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat said the accused will be deported after serving his jail term.
When asked if he touched the girl inappropriately while she was with her mother, the defendant replied: “I did not touch her at all. At first she claimed that I took photos, but when I denied that, she purported that I erased the photos… then she claimed to her mother that I touched her.”
The girl’s mother said her daughter insisted on her to leave Dragon Mart quickly.
“When I asked her why, she claimed to me that the defendant had chased her and groped her two times. She told me that he took snapshots of her with his mobile. I watched the defendant closely. Then I spotted him sitting at an opposite bench and had his mobile phone between his legs… he positioned the lens towards my daughter. I realised that he had been taking photos. I reported the police instantly,” claimed the mother.
The teenager testified that M.N. walked behind her for a while and groped her back twice at 3.30pm.
Records said 89 photos of women and children were found saved in the defendant’s mobile phone.
Thursday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
