Dubai: A worker has been cleared of trying to rape a seven-year-old Egyptian boy at his parents’ new home after the boy’s father went to the mosque for prayer.
The boy’s father, who is a muezzin, went to the nearby mosque to call for the Fajr prayer when the 33-year-old Pakistani worker allegedly cornered the boy in his bedroom and tried to rape him in November.
The seven-year-old resisted the worker and rushed out of his bedroom towards his mother.
When the father was informed about what had allegedly happened to his son, he called the worker and asked him to come over to his place but the latter refused repeatedly, said records.
The father then reported the matter to the police who apprehended the worker.
Citing lack of corroborated evidence, the Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the worker of undressing the seven-year-old and trying to have sex with him.
The worker strongly refuted the allegations when he appeared in court and accused the Egyptian muezzin of lodging the malicious case against him due to a previous dispute.
The father told prosecutors that he left the worker and a co-worker at his new residence to do some work and went to the mosque to call for the prayer.
“My son came to the mosque and he had Dh3 with him … he told me that one of the workers had given him the money. I did not pay much attention and later we went home. When my wife was dressing our child, he refused to put on the same clothes that he was wearing earlier … I overheard his argument with his mother. He told my wife that he did not want to put on the same dress because the worker [suspect] had abused him sexually. I heard my boy telling his mum that the worker tried to remove his clothes and touched him in a bad way. The worker repeatedly refused to see me,” the father claimed.
The seven-year-old was quoted as telling prosecutors that the suspect gave him Dh3 and then tried to remove his clothes and do something indecent to him.
Records showed the suspect was taken into custody shortly after the father’s complaint.
The Pakistani man dismissed the father’s claims and accused him of lodging the case out of malice.
Prosecutors have appealed the primary ruling and a hearing will be scheduled before the Appeal Court soon.
