No acquittal, Brit has to languish in jail for filming woman in miniskirt

A higher court has repealed a lower court's acquittal verdict for a Briton, who allegedly tried to film a woman wearing a short skirt inside a supermarket.
The Court of Appeals sentenced the 57-year-old defendant, a manager, to three months in jail and deportation.
In May, the Court of First Instance cleared him of an attempted sexual harassment charge. He pleaded not guilty. But the public prosecution appealed the primary ruling.
According to court documents, the defendant was standing behind the woman in queue in front of the cashier.
Pretending that he dropped a cigarette packet, he bent to pick it up while holding his phone on camera mode. But the woman spotted him and made a scream.
The woman's' friend, a 29-year-old British marketing manager, said that they were standing near the cashier when she suddenly started to shout.
"She wanted me to stop a man from leaving the supermarket. She said that he filmed her."
The witness added that he checked the man's phone. "I found he had shot the false ceilings of the supermarket. It means that he tried to film her bare legs but could not."
The accused raised suspicions even more when he suddenly deleted the clip.
"The man was caught on the surveillance camera dropping a cigarette packet. It was apparently deliberate to film her legs," the witness said.
But as she noticed and exposed him, the accused tried to drive away in his car. Her friend blocked his way and called the police.
The incident was reported to Al Barsha police on January 5.
The ruling is subject to be challenged at the Court of Cassation.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai