Technician jailed for molesting gym receptionist

Dubai: A technician has been jailed for six months for molesting a gym’s receptionist when he groped her.

The 26-year-old Indian cooling systems technician, P.K., was called for maintenance work at the gym when he molested the Filipina receptionist in November.

When he entered his plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance, P.K. contended that he opened her jacket to read the label.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said the accused will be deported following the completion of his jail term.

When asked why he touched the claimant’, the defendant said: “I am at fault. I only touched her back when I tried to remove her jacket to read the label and know what brand she wore,” replied the defendant.

The 26-year-old receptionist said the cooling system was not working properly at the gym’s fitting room.

“I called the maintenance people… the defendant and two of his co-workers came. The suspect asked me about the control board. His co-workers waited at the reception… I accompanied the defendant to the jacuzzi room where the board was placed. He drew his shoulder very close to mine. He gazed at me strangely. I felt scared and stayed far from him. Then he asked my name and quickly came towards me and pulled my jacket… he wanted to read the label. I moved away as I was scared and asked him not to touch me. While he was talking about the cooling system, he took me by surprise and pressed his palm to my cheek. I scolded him and warned him to stay away. Instead, he came towards me and opened his arms, wanting to hug and kiss me. I pushed him away and left. He walked behind me and touched my neck and back and smiled at me,” said the receptionist.

Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.