Dubai: A defence witness astounded a court on Sunday when he claimed that a teenaged schoolboy complained to the police that he had been raped and molested by 131 suspects.

“He complained against 131 persons when he reportedly told the police that he was raped and molested in a school’s playground,” the 19-year-old Emirati witness testified before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

The witness, A.Y., testified in courtroom seven where a 20-year-old Emirati employee, K.S., denied the accusation of having lured the 14-year-old schoolboy to the playground and molested him along with others inside a washroom.

“You mean to say that the claimant is sexually active?” presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi asked A.Y.

“Yes. He complained against 131 persons. During the police line-up, the claimant identified me and a policeman [who were part of the line-up] among the suspects whom he claimed had raped and molested him,” A.Y. replied.

“And what were you doing at the police station and why were you asked to stand in the line-up? Did you molest the claimant? Were you involved in this case?” the judge asked A.Y.

Bail

He denied being a suspect and said that he had gone to the police station along with K.S.’ brother to bail him out.

“A corporal asked me and another policeman to stand in the line-up for the claimant to identify us,” A.Y. said.

K.S. entered a not guilty plea.

Prosecutors charged K.S. and four juveniles of luring the schoolboy to the playground, then forcing him into the washroom where they allegedly molested him individually.

Records said the juvenile suspects will stand trial before the Juveniles Court on Tuesday.

K.S.’ advocate Saeed Al Ghailani argued: “There is more than one case connected to this incident. We ask the court to club those file cases together. The alleged incident was recorded on a video phone and circulated in school. So, the defence would like to hear the statement of the instructor who saw the video and informed the schoolboy’s mother that her son was molested. We also have few more defence witnesses.”

Claimant’s version

The schoolboy testified that the incident occurred when he took his younger brother and went to play football in the playground.

“One of the suspects, I.S., who is my friend, invited me to play football. My mother allowed me to go only if my younger brother accompanied me. When we finished playing, I was standing in front of my friend K.S.’ car. I.S. pushed me into the car. K.S. slapped me. Two other suspects were present inside the car. K.S. said he would not allow me to go before having sex with me. K.S. threatened that they would all rape my younger brother if I did not allow them to have sex with me. They forced me into the washroom...and I.S. placed a knife against me. They abused me one at a time. Out of fear, I didn’t inform my mother that I had been abused. They also threatened to rape my brother. My mother came to know about the incident when our teacher saw the video and he showed it to her…” the schoolboy claimed.

Records said the schoolboy cried and begged the defendants to not abuse him. He claimed that he put up no resistance in order to protect his younger brother from any danger. The schoolboy claimed that five suspects had abused him.

“I did not know that the suspects filmed the incident on a mobile phone video camera until they blackmailed me and threatened to expose the footage if I reported them to the police. The video does not contain my cries or shouting because of the sound of the shower,” the schoolboy claimed.

The court reconvenes on November 21.