Dubai: Kissing the hand of a woman, whom you do not know, and shaking hands with her might sometimes prove to be costly as it’s a criminal act punishable by law.
The UAE Penal Code permits a female to lodge a criminal complaint against a suspect, who breaches her modesty and privacy and touches her in a way that she deems as unacceptable.
A South African woman complained to the police that a Pakistani operator, whom she had seen for the first time in her life, molested her in an elevator of the commercial tower, where she works in Dubai.
The woman told interrogators that shortly after the lift started moving upwards, according to records, the 26-year-old Pakistani operator extended his arm wanting to shake hands with her in September.
Once she shook hand with him, the operator kissed back of her hand and tried to hug her before she stopped him.
Prosecutors accused the suspect of molesting the woman by kissing her backhand and attempting to hug her.
The suspect pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.
The woman told prosecutors that she met the suspect in the elevator which she took to reach her office.
“I stood in one of the corners of the elevator … the man, whom I had never met before, asked me about me about my nationality. As I told him about it, he said that he is a Pakistani … I greeted him verbally. As he was about to leave the elevator when the door opened, he extended his arm to shake hand with me. When I shook hand with him, he kissed back of my hand and I pulled it back quickly. I refused to give him my contact number when he asked for it. I was astonished as to why he did that unacceptable thing especially when I didn’t know him. I pushed him back when he tried to hug me … then I called the police,” she told prosecutors.
The suspect will be sentenced on November 14.
