Dubai: A technician paid the price of ‘falling in love at first sight’ and was rewarded with six months behind bars for molesting a woman when she served him water.
The 28-year-old Indian technician, S.T., was accused of groping a Filipina housemaid and touching her indecently when he claimed to have fallen in love with her the first minute he saw her.
The man was among a group of technicians who went to the villa of the Filipina’s sponsor to fix the cooling system.
The Dubai Appeal Court rejected S.T.’s appeal and confirmed his six-month imprisonment. He will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
When the defendant appeared in court, he pleaded not guilty and claimed that he touched the woman accidentally.
“It was the first time that he ever saw me… he said that he loved me and allowed himself to touch my private parts. He groped me when I served him a cup of water,” the 21-year-old housemaid claimed.
The defendant contended before the court that he was with a team of technicians fixing the cooling system when the incident happened.
“I asked her for water because I was thirsty. I followed her to the kitchen. When she handed me the cup, I touched her breast. Later she dropped her complaint,” said the accused, who handed the judge a copy of a written waiver
The Filipina testified that the incident happened while the technicians worked at the rooftop of the villa in Jebel Ali.
“The workers arrived at 9.30am. The defendant asked me to serve him water. I was surprised when I spotted him climbing down from the rooftop and walking behind me into the kitchen... To my surprise he said ‘I like you’ and suddenly he placed his hand on my top. I scolded him angrily. Immediately he apologised. I was frightened so I ran away along with my sponsor’s girl and hid in my bedroom. I told my sponsor who reported it to the police,” claimed the housemaid.
The appellate judgment remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 28 days.
