Dubai: A journalist on Monday denied in court having molested a woman shopper in a hypermarket, contending that he is not willing to ruin his happy marriage life and career.

Entering a not guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance, the 31-year-old Egyptian journalist strongly denied the prosecutors’ accusation that he groped the Malaysian housewife.

Prosecutors said the defendant took advantage of the housewife bending over to place her groceries inside the trolley when he groped her in July.

“I did not do such a thing. I told police and prosecutors that I mistakenly touched her while I was confused and searching for my lost brother. I even turned towards her and apologised to her. The lanes between the shelves are very narrow and I mistakenly bumped into her when she came from behind,” the journalist told presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat in courtroom three.

“Did you molest her or not?” presiding judge Abdul Lat asked the suspect.

“Sir, I am 31 years old and I have a decent job and happily married. Why would I do such a thing and risk losing my job and ruin my life. God forbid, had I wanted to do such a thing, why would I do it in a mall? I could have easily brought a woman to my house. But I am not a bad person. I thank God for enjoying a decent and happy life and I do not need to do such a thing,” defended the suspect.

The 31-year-old Malaysian woman testified to prosecutors that she was with her children when the suspect groped her at 10.30pm.

“He walked away after he molested me. I called him but he didn’t answer. I chased him and stopped him. When I asked him why he groped me, he said he was sorry and that it happened by mistake. I called the police,” claimed the housewife.

During Monday’s trial, the suspect’s lawyer, Nabih Badr, strongly dismissed the probability that his client molested the claimant.

“My client is a journalist and writes features about combating molestation and molesters. He is an educated person and holds a postgraduate degree. He just returned from a USA trip where he was lauded at Georgetown University for his role in writing articles about combating molestation and molesters. He even lectures on that topic. There is no way he could have molested that woman… he is a journalist and is entirely aware of the legal consequences of such wrongdoing,” argued Badr.

The lawyer asked the court to dismiss the case citing the ‘illogicality’ of what happened.

“The hypermarket’s door was just two metres away and he could have run away had he molested the woman. Besides, the surveillance cameras proved that my client stood there speaking to the Malaysian woman… he was apologising because he touched her mistakenly. Actually my client was present there with his disabled brother. When his brother disappeared, he panicked and got confused… all he could think of was finding his lost brother. He did not intend to molest her,” concluded lawyer Badr.

A ruling will be heard on November 17.