Dubai: Dubai prosecutors are seeking to indict an Egyptian worker of wearing lingerie in public — a charge of which he was acquitted of last June.

The 30-year-old Egyptian worker appeared before the Dubai Appeals Court yesterday and denied the charge of cross-dressing and walking in a woman's bra and panty in public.

During Sunday's hearing, Dubai Public Prosecution's representative asked Presiding Judge Adnan Al Farra to overturn the suspect's acquittal, pronounce him guilty and give him the toughest punishment applicable.

According to records, an Emirati policeman had claimed that he caught the suspect, M.F., cross-dressed in women's underwear in Dubai International City.

"I swear to God that I am innocent… I didn't cross-dress at all. I didn't wear the bra or the panty but what really happened is that I found them in front of my house in a nylon bag… when I saw the policeman, I was afraid of throwing them on the ground because I didn't want to be booked," M.F. told Presiding Judge Al Farra.

The appeals judgment will be heard on August 22.

Lack of evidence

Last June, the Dubai Misdemeanours Court acquitted the worker of cross-dressing in public for lack of corroborating evidence.

"I swear to God that I am not a pervert… your honour, I was born a man and am proud of my masculinity. I do not mind undergoing any biological test to prove my manliness, if that is what it takes to convince the court that I am a normal adult," M.F. argued before the primary court.

"Prosecutors have presented insufficient and uncorroborated evidence against the suspect. The law enforcement officer [who brought the charge against the suspect] testified in his prosecution statement that M.F. was wearing a short and a T-shirt at the time of his arrest," the primary verdict sheet read.

"The officer also alleged that he only saw the bra and the panty after he stopped the suspect. The court believes that the prosecution witness' statement was doubtful and deems the prosecutors' evidence as insufficient enough to indict M.F.," the verdict added.

The court had acquitted M.F. as per article 211 of the Criminal Procedures Law.