Dubai: A driver, who risked a 10-year-old boy’s life by molesting him while he ventured into the waters at Jumeirah Open Beach in June, has been jailed for a year.
The Indian boy was enjoying a swim when the 31-year-old Pakistani driver, S.R., grabbed him from behind and forcibly held him underwater as he molested him.
The boy’s mother saw the defendant holding down her 10-year-old son under water, according to records, even as the boy tried to resist and free himself from S.R.
The boy’s mother ran into the water to rescue her son, records said, while a number of beachgoers came to the woman’s assistance on noticing what S.R. was doing.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted S.R. of endangering the boy’s life while he tried to molest him and of consuming alcohol.
Presiding judge Urfan Omar fined S.R. Dh2,000 for drinking.
The accused, who was sentenced in absentia, will be deported.
Records said S.R. endangered the boy’s life when he repeatedly pulled him under the water while molesting him. The defendant was drunk at the time he intentionally forced the boy underwater several times within five minutes.
The boy’s mother testified that she was spending a day out at the beach when the incident happened.
“Firstly, I saw the defendant walking into the sea before he grabbed my son and pulled him into the water. Then he wrapped his arm around my son’s neck and pulled him down under the surface. He held his body close to my son’s and molested him … he did not hear me when I shouted at him. I shouted several times and, when he did not stop, I ran into the water to save my boy. Once he realised that I was heading towards him, he tried to run away. Other beachgoers noticed what was happening when they intervened and stopped the defendant and prevented him from leaving,” she claimed.
The boy was quoted telling prosecutors that S.R. tried to drown him six times and tried to remove his swimsuit while molesting him.
