Dubai employee denies molestation charge

Dubai: A 23-year-old employee has accused his colleague of maliciously levelling a molestation charge at him due to a work dispute when he appeared in a court on Sunday.

"I am not guilty. I didn't molest or harass him sexually," said the Argentinian employee, A.B., when he rejected the charges before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of molesting his Arab national colleague, A.M., by touching his posterior.

The Argentinian strongly refuted the charges and told Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir: "He made up this case against… he lodged it maliciously before the authorities. I caught him doing something wrong at work and informed our superiors. Due to the work dispute, he lodged this malicious and groundless case against me."

The alleged victim testified to prosecutors that the defendant intentionally groped his back while they were at a pub.

"I saw him touching A.M.'s back in an obviously intentional manner," a prosecution witness testified in a statement.

An Emirati first corporal, who questioned the defendant, testified that he admitted mistakenly touching the claimant's posterior.

"I touched him accidentally at the pub," the suspect was quoted as saying in his statement to the Public Prosecution.

The Public Prosecution asked the court to implement articles 121 and 356 of the Federal Penal Code, which stipulate that the suspect faces a temporary imprisonment between three years and 15 years followed by deportation.

Presiding Judge Mounir adjourned the case until late this month to hear prosecution witnesses.