Dubai: An engineer has been accused of molesting his colleague by caressing her hand and knee.
The 59-year-old Jordanian engineer, N.M., allegedly called the Filipina secretary to his office in March and placed his hand on hers, caressed her and told her that he liked her and wanted a kiss.
Prosecutors accused N.M. of molesting the woman at the caravan where they both worked.
The suspect pleaded not guilty and firmly refuted the accusation before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said N.M. molested the Filipina by touching her hand and knee against her will.
“I did not molest her … I put my hand on her hand that happened to be on her leg,” argued the suspect as he asked presiding judge Urfan Omar to acquit him.
The 26-year-old secretary claimed to prosecutors that the incident happened inside their temporary office in a caravan in Al Qusais at 1pm.
“The suspect called me to his office. When I went there and sat on the chair in front of his desk, he stood up and told me in English ‘I like you’ … he asked me to kiss him and hug him. I refused and asked him to stay away from me. He did not stop and came closer to me and put his hand on my hand … he caressed my leg. When I pushed him away, he stopped and returned to his seat,” she told prosecutors.
Records said the Filipina informed her manager about incident and he reported it to the police.
An Egyptian clerk testified to prosecutors that he witnessed the secretary storming out of N.M.’s office.
A ruling will be heard on October 31.
