UAE | Crime

Worker acquitted of cross-dressing in Dubai's International City

Prosecutors accused the suspect of walking around in women's clothes in International City's Chinese block.

By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
Published: 00:00 June 9, 2010

Dubai: A court has cleared a worker of walking around in lingerie in public. A policeman had claimed he caught the suspect dressed in women's innerwear in International City.

The Dubai Misdemeanors Court on Tuesday acquitted the 30-year-old Egyptian worker of cross-dressing in public for lack of corroborating evidence.

"I swear to God that I am not a pervert… your honour, I was born a man and am proud of my masculinity. I didn't wear the bra or the panty but I had them in a sack. When I saw the policeman, I was afraid of throwing them on the ground because I didn't want to be booked. I do not mind undergoing any biological test to prove my manliness, if that is what it takes to convince the court that I am a normal adult," argued the worker, M.F., when he defended himself before Presiding Judge Zakaria Abdul Aziz in courtroom five.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of walking around in women's clothes in International City's Chinese block.

When Presiding Judge Abdul Aziz asked M.F. if he wore women's undergarments, the latter replied: "I swear to God Almighty that I never wore those clothes… I was not cross-dressed when the incident happened."

Readiness for tests

Then the judge asked the suspect if he was perverted, he replied: "Your honour, I am willing to undergo any kind of test which the court decides. Thereafter I am ready to accept your fair judgment whatever it is."

So the judge ordered the suspect to wait in the courtroom until he issued the verdict.

"Prosecutors have presented insufficient and uncorroborated evidence against the suspect. The law enforcement officer [who brought the charge against the suspect] testified in his prosecution statement that M.F. was wearing a short and a T-shirt at the time of his arrest. The officer also alleged that he only saw the bra and the panty after he stopped the suspect. The court believes that the prosecution witness's statement was doubtful and deems the prosecutors' evidence as insufficient enough to indict M.F.," read the primary verdict.

Presiding Judge Abdul Aziz acquitted M.F. as per article 211 of the Criminal Procedures Law.

Police reports quoted the arresting officer as saying: "I suspected M.F. when he walked out of the building because he walked barefoot, wore a short and a T-shirt and seemed he had a breast… when I approached him, M.F. ran until he fatigued and fell on the ground. I realised that he wore a bra and a panty. I took him to the police station for questioning."

Tuesday's judgment remains subject to appeal within 15 days.