Dubai: An elderly fisherman has been jailed for 27 months for getting drunk and luring a nine-year-old boy to a building’s rooftop with Dh2 and a cold drink and molesting him.
Two cleaners were said to have spotted the 62-year-old Omani fisherman dragging the Indian schoolboy into the building in May.
After suspecting that the fisherman intended to abuse the boy, they chased him and foiled his attempt to rape the boy in a room at the rooftop.
The Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the defendant, M.A., for two years for sexually abusing the boy and three months for getting drunk.
“He will be deported following the completion of his imprisonment,” said presiding judge Ezzat Abdul Lat on Monday.
Records cited one of the Bangladeshi cleaners, who saved the boy, testifying: “I spotted the man exposing himself and trying to force the boy to please him. The child seemed terrified.”
M.A. pleaded not guilty in courtroom three.
When asked by the judge if he hugged and kissed the boy against his will while under the influence of liquor, the defendant replied: “Nothing of that sort happened.”
Court records said the defendant took advantage of the schoolboy’s innocence before hugging and kissing him, removing his shirt.
The Indian boy said the Omani abused him shortly after he went out to play with some children in the neighbourhood.
“I went down after prayers to play cricket with my friends. Five minutes later the defendant came and offered me a cold drink, but I told him I didn’t want one. Then he gave me Dh2 … then he hugged me and kissed me. When I refused to go with him, he pulled me by the arm. He dragged me into a building’s elevator, where he kissed and hugged me. When we reached the fourth floor, he took me to a room on the roof where he removed my shirt… he tried to force me to do something bad but I refused. Then two men came and stopped the defendant,” he told prosecutors.
The Bangladeshi cleaner said he felt something was not right when he noticed the elderly man pushing the boy into the building.
“My friend and I went to check. We looked everywhere until we found them in the rooftop room,” said the cleaner.
Prosecution records said the cleaners saved the boy from being abused and restrained M.A. until the police arrived.
A policeman testified that when he questioned the boy, the latter constantly pointed to his mouth. He said the boy was very scared and embarrassed and said the man had kissed him and asked him to perform a lewd act on him.
Monday’s judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
