DUBAI // A manager who was jailed for molesting a woman he was interviewing for a job despite saying he was merely dusting her behind has been cleared on appeal.
Egyptian S A, was convicted by Dubai Criminal Court in March and was sentenced to three months in jail to be followed by deportation. However, the verdict has been overturned by Dubai Court of Appeals.
“I swear I never did that,” the 40-year-old man said in court.
“I was forced to confess, your honour – I request that you summon the prosecutor who interrogated me and have him take the oath then tell you if this story is true.”
The accused said the woman had fabricated the story.
Records show that 21-year-old Filipina J K arrived in Dubai on a visit visa to look for a job.
“I posted an ad on Dubizzle with my phone number on it,” she said in her testimony.
Days later she said she received a missed call from a number and when she called back it was S A who told her he was looking for an administrative assistant.
“We agreed to meet the following day at his company offices,” she said.
On the morning of January 12 she arrived for an interview to find the meeting place was an empty office with one desk.
“I sat and we talked about my qualifications then he had me do some documents on a laptop, after which he said I had passed the interview and I was to come back in the morning to start work,” the woman said.
She claimed she shook the Egyptian’s hand but he kept holding on to her hand. She said she felt uncomfortable and hurried towards the door to leave but found it locked. “I then felt his hands on my behind,” she said. “He claimed he was removing some dust and I told him that I can do that but he continued doing it anyway.”
He then opened the door and she went home, she said, and told her brother about what had happened. Her brother took her to a police station to report the incident.
S A insisted he did not touch her on purpose and that he was removing dust from her trousers.
salamir@thenational.ae
