Mentally-ill hotel guest cleared of molest by Dubai court

The Saudi man was at the Dream Palace Hotel in January when he was alleged to have sexually assaulted an Ethiopian waitress in the elevator.

DUBAI // A hotel guest accused of molesting a waitress during his stay has been acquitted because he is mentally ill.

Y A, 42, from Saudi Arabia, was at the Dream Palace Hotel in January when he was alleged to have sexually assaulted the Ethiopian waitress P L in a lift.

Last month at Dubai Criminal Court, his mother presented documents to the court stating that her son suffered from psychological issues.

Y A denied the charges, claiming he was married to the waitress. “How can I molest her? She is my wife,” he said.

P L told prosecutors that Y A had caused a series of problems during his stay. She said he would interfere in the business of receptionists and had visited the restaurant to shout at the cook.

“The hotel was contacted several times by the Saudi consulate to drive the man to the airport so he could take a flight back to his country but he would not go,” said the waitress.

She said in records that she met him on the morning of January 16 in the lift while he was carrying a cup of tea and he asked her about her name then passed his hand over her chest and back.

“I pushed him but he has a strong body so I couldn’t keep him off me and I wasn’t able to get help because it all happened so quickly.”

She also denied being his wife, but asked the court to drop charges against him.