Dubai: A student has been accused of walking behind a hairdresser and groping her while she was accompanying her workmate to a bus stop in Al Satwa.
The 19-year-old student from Comoros Islands was said to have walked behind the 23-year-old Filipina hairdresser and her countrywoman before he grabbed her in August.
Once the woman felt someone touching her, according to records, she turned around quickly and spotted the 19-year-old pulling back his hand fast.
The student and his two friends ran away quickly once the Filipina noticed what had happened and yelled at him.
Prosecutors accused the student of molesting the Filipina.
The 19-year-old pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
“I did not intend to touch her … it happened by mistake. I have already spoken to her and she will waive her complaint,” the suspect told presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi.
The hairdresser claimed to prosecutors that the incident happened while she was walking with her workmate in Al Satwa near the bus stop.
“The suspect and two others were walking behind us … suddenly I felt a hand grabbing me. When I turned back, I saw the suspect pulling away his hand. I realised that he was the one groping me. When I asked him angrily why he touched me, he didn’t reply and started running. My workmate and I chased the men … they tried to kick us,” she testified to prosecutors.
The 33-year-old workmate claimed to prosecutors that the suspect laughed when the victim asked him why he had groped her.
Presiding judge Al Shamsi granted bail to the student and will hand out a judgement on January 18.
