Dubai: An airport ground staff has been accused of molesting a 10-year-old girl four times while deflating her swimming ring at the check-in counter, heard a court on Thursday.
The 10-year-old British girl and her mother were said to be at the check-in counter flying back to London in September from Dubai International Airport.
The wheel-chaired mother left her daughter at the counter for few minutes and went to the washroom, according to records, and when she returned they proceeded to the plane.
In a written complaint lodged on one of the social media platforms of Emirates airline, the British mother alleged that her daughter claimed to her that the Indian ground staffer touched her top four times.
The mother further alleged that the ground staffer purportedly molested her 10-year-old girl as he was deflating her daughter’s swimming ring while she was using the toilet.
A security officer at the airliner reported the police that they held an internal investigation during which the Indian staffer claimed that he mistakenly touched the girl.
Prosecutors charged the Indian suspect with molesting the minor.
According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the suspect molested the girl at the special needs counter while deflating her swimming ring that was not to be allowed on the aircraft without being emptied.
The suspect pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.
“I did not intentionally touch her. I mistakenly touched her while deflating her swimming ring,” the 42-year-old suspect told presiding judge Habib Awad.
Emirates’ security officer testified to prosecutors: “The mother approached us on one of the social media platforms. She claimed that her daughter been allegedly molested four times by the ground staffer who touched her top while deflating the swimming ring. The woman was still on board the plane when she lodged her complaint. When I confronted the suspect, he claimed that it happened by mistake.”
An Indian security staff who carried out the administrative investigation alleged that the 42-year-old suspect claimed to him that he mistakenly touched the girl’s breast.
A ruling will be heard on November 22.
