Dubai: An advertisement company’s manager has denied groping a woman clerk and accused her of fabricating the case against him after she failed to get the UK visa.
The Indian woman was said to have been discussing some business papers with her 53-year-old countryman manager in his office in February.
The manager was believed to have praised the woman’s beauty and charm before he pulled her towards him, made her sit on his lap and groped her beside telling her he wanted to have sex with her, according to records.
After the Indian woman complained to the police, prosecutors accused the suspect of groping the woman.
On Monday, the Indian suspect pleaded not guilty, refuted the woman’s allegations and produced two defence witnesses who testified before the Dubai Court of First Instance that the woman complained out of malice.
“I did not touch her,” the suspect told presiding judge Urfan Omar.
His lawyer presented two defence witnesses, who testified that the woman was outraged after her job title at the advertisement company [suspect’s company] didn’t qualify her to apply for a visa to the UK.
“She was hired as an office clerk and after two months she failed to get a UK visa. On the day when the alleged incident happened, she stormed out of the suspect’s office and she was too angry … I heard her saying that she would show the boss [suspect] what the power of woman can do to him,” a witness told the court.
A second witness, who works as the company’s public relations officer, testified before presiding judge Omar: “She applied to work for the company … when we processed her visa and residency in November, her job title was office clerk. Two months later, she came to the office and was very angry because she had failed to get the UK visa. She blamed me of ruining her future after her visa application got rejected because of her job title. I told boss [suspect] about the incident … we asked her whether she had joined the company to work or for applying for the UK visa. She went to the suspect’s office to discuss her problem and then stormed out and shouted: "I will go to court and show him what the power of women can do!’ She was terminated from her job after the incident.”
According to prosecution papers, the Indian woman claimed: “I got hired at the company in December as a receptionist … since day one the suspect stalked me and constantly told me I am charming and he wanted to have sex with me. In February, I was in his office when he pulled me towards him, made me sit on his lap and groped me. I cried and begged him to leave me. I left his office after tell him not to repeat what he had done to me.”
A Filipina witness told prosecutors that before she was also terminated from the company and the suspect allegedly groped her and sent her indecent clips on WhatsApp.
“I left the company and lodged a police complaint … I waived my complaint after the company paid me my gratuity and pending salary,” she told prosecutors.
The trial continues.
