Cleaner jailed for filming women in washroom

Dubai: A cleaner has been jailed for three months for secretly filming women while they were using the public toilet of at the Roads and Transport Authority’s [RTA] marine station.

A Tanzanian receptionist who worked at the station noticed a mobile phone left beside the toilet seat after she used the bathroom at the marine station in Al Jaddaf Area. She thought the phone must have been forgotten by someone.

The woman deleted the content once she realised that the camera had been left on. The victim took the device and gave it to a security guard, who recognised that the device belonged to an Indian cleaner, 27.

On Tuesday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Indian defendant of using his mobile to secretly film an unidentified number of women undress and use the washroom.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused, who pleaded not guilty, will be deported after serving his punishment. There was no mention as to how or when the police apprehended the accused.

When he showed up in court, the defendant contended: “I did not film women but I forgot my mobile in the washroom after I had tidied it up.”

The Tanzanian woman testified that at 9am she went to use the toilet and spotted the phone.

“At first, I thought someone had forgotten it. When I checked the device, I realised that it had been left with the camera on. I deleted the content and then handed over the phone to the security guard,” she claimed.

The accused was quoted telling prosecutors that he left his phone in the washroom to film women undress while using the bathroom.

The ruling remains subject to appeal.