Dubai: A worker, who trespassed into the residence of a muezzin [a person who recites the call to prayer] and molested his sleeping wife, has been jailed for six months.
The woman was sleeping when her husband, the muezzin, went to the mosque to call for the Fajr [early morning] prayers in December.
The wife thought that her husband had kissed her before she realised that it was someone else once she heard her husband’s voice calling for prayers.
As soon as she opened her eyes, the wife saw the 36-year-old Pakistani defendant who was about to kiss her lips before she screamed and the worker rushed out of the house.
Police arrested the accused shortly after the incident in Al Rifaa area.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of molesting the woman and trespassing into the house.
The accused pleaded innocent when he defended himself in court.
“I did not molest her … she is my sister,” the defended argued before the presiding judge.
According to the primary judgement, the defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The woman said at first she thought it was her husband who had caressed her face and kissed her forehead.
“Once I heard my husband’s voice calling for the Fajr prayer, I opened my eyes quickly. The defendant was just about to kiss my lips but I prevented him instantly and screamed. He rushed out of the house,” the wife told prosecutors.
The muezzin testified that he saw the accused offering the Sunnah [prayer before the main prayer] at 5.30am.
“When I finished the call for prayers, I saw him there as well. When I went to my residence [located within the mosque’s premises], I saw my wife in a state of shock. She was crying when she told me about the incident … then I rushed to the mosque. The defendant was still there and when I confronted him with my wife’s claims, he asked me to forgive him and not to call the police,” the muezzin said.
The primary ruling remains subject to appeal.
