Man jailed for lewd act, molesting women in mall

Dubai: A salesman, who was spotted on surveillance cameras exposing himself and molesting women shoppers at a shopping mall, has been jailed for three months. The 26-year-old Egyptian salesman, M.A., molested an unidentified number of shoppers and committed a lewd act in public by exposing himself. The incident occurred in Deira in October.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted M.A. of public indecency and molestation despite having pleaded not guilty and claiming that he was too drunk to remember what had happened.

Records show that M.A. molested an unknown number of women and gestured indecently in the shopping mall.

When asked if he had molested women and exposed himself, the accused told the court: “I don’t remember clearly. Honestly, I was too drunk to remember if I had done that. It was the first time that I had a drink in my life. I don’t even remember what I drank.”

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.

A policeman testified that he spotted the defendant walking in the clothing section and suspected him of the crime.

“I headed to the person in charge of the surveillance room. After we directed the cameras towards the defendant, we spotted him touching women and flashing. The suspect was caught red-handed as he had exposed himself and molested a number of shoppers. Upon confronting the defendant, he admitted that he had been molesting women,” claimed the policeman.

According to prosecution records, M.A.’s actions were caught on camera.

Tuesday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.