Leisure park employee jailed for molesting workmate

Dubai: An amusement park employee who touched his co-worker’s face and caressed her upper body has been jailed for three months.

The 23-year-old Kenyan employee first stretched out his hand to help his 20-year-old Emirati co-worker stand up but then proceeded to caress her upper body and waist at the leisure park in December.

Despite having entered a plea of not guilty, he was convicted by the Dubai Court of First Instance of molesting the Emirati woman. The accused will be deported following the completion of his jail term, said the presiding judge.

The Emirati testified that the incident happened shortly after their female workmate took a lunch break.

“My countrywoman workmate took a break and left us and he started asking me work-related questions. Then as I was about to stand up, the defendant handed me his arm to help me... I grabbed his hand but while I standing up, he touched my face. I pushed his hand away quickly. Then he caressed my waist and top. I pushed him away instantly and in the meantime, my workmate returned from her break. I went to the management and told them what had happened,” she said.

A policeman told prosecutors that police were informed about a dispute that had taken place at the car section of the park.

“We headed there and the claimant informed us that the defendant had molested her. When asked how, she replied that he caressed her waist and top and he touched her face against her will. Upon confrontation, the defendant claimed that he took the woman’s permission to see her henna and that was why he touched her eyebrow and hand,” testified the policeman.

The primary ruling remains subject to appeal within 13 days.