Dubai: A visitor lost his appeal and will be jailed for three months for molesting a woman employee while queuing at the McDonald’s counter at the Dubai International Airport’s food court.
The 33-year-old Yemeni visitor happened to be drunk when he molested the employee from Comoros Islands while queuing behind her as she was reading the menu.
In July, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of molestation.
The defendant appealed his three-month imprisonment before the Appeal Court and he renewed his not guilty plea.
Presiding judge Eisa Al Sharif rejected the defendant’s appeal and upheld his three-month jail term.
The accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The 23-year-old woman said the accused molested her at 10.30pm when she went with her colleagues to buy dinner at the airport’s food court.
“I was standing in the queue in front of McDonald’s when I felt someone touching me … I turned quickly and noticed the defendant standing behind me and reading the prices board. I thought it happened by mistake. When it happened again, I felt that he had groped me purposely as his body was so close to mine. I moved a step forward, turned towards him, and told him ‘if you please’ [in Arabic]. He pretended to be reading the price list. When I spoke to him, he ignored me … so I waved my hand in his face to capture his attention and asked him to move back a little bit. He neglected me and continued reading the price list. Then I stepped out of the queue, called up my brother and told him what had happened. Then he called the police. I joined my colleagues at their table and did not order any meal … after the accused got his order, he came and sat adjacent to us and my colleague told me that he was staring at me,” she said.
Police apprehended the defendant from the food court.
A police sergeant said when he questioned the Yemeni, the latter denied molesting the woman.
“While questioning, the defendant seemed drunk … he also behaved strangely. When I asked him to stand up, he lost his balance and almost fell down,” the sergeant testified.
The appellate judgement remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 20 days.
