UAE | Crime
UAE women's washroom spy 'mentally unstable'
A supervisor standing trial for secretly fixing cameras in the Environment Ministry's women's washrooms "is mentally unstable and not responsible for his behaviour," his lawyer said on Sunday.
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:28 August 24, 2008
Dubai: A supervisor standing trial for secretly fixing cameras in the Environment Ministry's women's washrooms "is mentally unstable and not responsible for his behaviour," his lawyer said on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Emirati supervisor denied breaching the privacy of women when he reportedly fixed a secret camera in the women's washrooms in the Ministry of Environment.
"My client suffers from a mental disorder which means he is not responsible for his behaviour and he lacks criminal intent during his actions. He has been undergoing treatment in the psychological wards of two different hospitals in Dubai for more than five years. His medical reports proves that he constantly submits to hallucinations and strange voices [inside his head] ... he hears someone giving him orders which he carries out unconsciously and unintentionally," his defence lawyer Saeed Al Ghailani told the Dubai Court of First Instance.
The suspect, identified as A.K., is being prosecuted for sexually harassing and breaching the privacy of an unidentified number of ministry employees by fixing wireless videocams inside their washrooms.
Al Ghailani told Presiding Judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm that his client's doctors confirmed that he suffers from chronic depression, social phobia and anxiety.
"... he hears unknown voices from mysterious sources and to which he involuntarily yields. A.K. has five different personalities," said Al Ghailani.
A 28-year-old Emirati employee claimed A.K. entered the washroom "to fix a lock on the door" and she then discovered a camera had been fixed under a sink.
Records said another camera was discovered four months later. Investigations led to the arrest of A.K. A verdict will be given next month.
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