Job recruiter gets 6 months in jail for molesting woman

Dubai: A job recruiter has been jailed for molesting a Filipina whom he asked for sexual favours in order to hire her as secretary, a court ruled on Tuesday.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the 26-year-old Pakistani recruiter to six months in jail after he was incriminated of molesting the 22-year-old Filipina.

Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad stated in the verdict sheet that the accused will be deported after serving his punishment. Records quoted the claimant saying, in her statement, that the recruiter molested her in his flat where she went for the job interview. "I am innocent and I didn't do anything wrong," argued the accused, S.A., when he defended himself in court earlier.

"I applied for a secretary's job and went for the interview. I entered the two-room flat and sat in front of the suspect's desk. He said he needed a private secretary to assist him during his visits to the UAE. When I asked if he provides housing accommodation, he said I could stay with him in the same flat. Then he moved his chair close to me. He then unbuttoned my shirt and molested me," stated the 22-year-old in her statement. The claimant told prosecutors who questioned her that she found the door locked when she tried to leave the flat.

"He chased me to another room and said he would hire me if I fulfilled his sexual desires& I asked him for sometime and when he went to get me some water I phoned my friend who waited for me downstairs. He unlocked the door when he realised I had phoned someone. I told my friend what happened and we returned to the flat. When he heard me saying I wanted to report the police, he apologised," testified the Filipina.

The primary judgment is still subject to appeal within 15 days.