Dubai: A manager, who was drunk when he kissed a receptionist at a luxurious hotel in Palm Jumeirah, won a lenient punishment after the woman dropped her case against him.
The Kenyan receptionist dropped her molestation complaint against the British manager, A.H., after he apologised for kissing her and emphasised that he gave her a thank you kiss in November.
The Dubai Court of First Instance handed A.H. a three-month suspended imprisonment after he was convicted of molesting the Kenyan.
“The defendant has been fined Dh2,000 for drinking. The sentence will be suspended for a period of three years [during which the crime must not be repeated]. A.H. will be deported following the execution of his judgement,” said presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi on Sunday.
The Briton had pleaded not guilty and denied molesting the Kenyan woman while he admitted that he had drunk.
According to Sunday’s ruling, the accused was handed a lenient punishment after the woman waived her complaint against him.
“The defendant did not have a bad intention when he kissed me on my lips. He kissed me as a thank you gesture … at first I got scared and did not know what to do so I called the security. Then police came to the scene. Later he apologised and explained to me that he did not have a bad intention,” the Kenyan testified in court.
When asked if such behaviour is normal in her culture, the woman said that it was natural. She testified that a thank you kiss could be on the cheek or the lips, especially if the two people know each other.
She had claimed to prosecutors that A.H. kissed her once against her will and his friends brought him back to her to apologise and she refused to take Dh200 from him.
Meanwhile A.H.’s lawyer Saeed Al Gailani argued in court that the perception of kissing differs between cultures and not every kiss is a crime.
“Kissing differs between cultures and societies. It varies between cultures, norms, traditions and religions. Kissing might be incriminating in certain societies while in others it might not,” Al Gailani argued before presiding judge Al Shamsi.
The lawyer contended that the woman testified in court that such an act is very natural in her society and that she personally did not deem the kiss an act of molestation.
“My client’s behaviour should not be deemed as a crime, especially after the woman personally accepted A.H.’s kiss as a thank you gesture and not an act of molestation,” concluded Al Gailani.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.