Man seeks acquittal in molestation case

DUBAI — The defence counsel in a molestation case has sought acquittal of his client, 45-year-old Egyptian physician, J.D., on the grounds that the complainant had reported the matter to the police six days after the alleged incident.

By Mary Nammour, Our Staff Reporter (Court Round-up)

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Published: Thu 26 Jun 2008, 8:24 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 11:18 AM

The complainant is a 31-year-old Scottish sales executive and the incident took place in the physician's clinic in Mankhool area in Dubai on March 6 this year.

"Anyone who is forcibly molested cannot wait to report the matter to the police. Her pretext that she was new in Dubai and did not know what to do is illogical. She could have taken any taxi or asked anybody about the nearest police station," defence counsel Mahmoud Al Azeb argued before the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.

Al Azeb pointed out that the complainant had given conflicting statements. "On one occasion she said that she was wearing a skirt at the time of the incident. At another time she said she was wearing a dress and yet another time she said she was wearing pants," the defence told the court.

He further argued: "In her statement, she once said that he kissed her once. Later, she said that she was kissed twice and other times she mentioned that the defendant tried to kiss her."

Al Azeb pointed out, "My client is right-handed. In her testimony, the complainant said that he was injecting her with his left hand while he was touching her with his right hand. That does not make sense as giving an injection requires a certain technique."

Al Azeb noted that on the day of the incident, the complainant was accompanied by her mother. "So how could the molestation have taken place?" he asked.

He added that the complaint filed against his client was a "vindictive act" by the woman for being denied drugs.

"The victim has been addicted to narcotics for quite some time. She used to visit the clinic of the defendant asking for some drugs. The latter did not prescribe her a particular drug as he was not authorised to do that. He told her that she needed to consult a psychiatrist," the defence stated.

Defence counsel Jassem Naqabi presented before the court some photographs of the defendant's clinic. He argued that the molestation could not have taken place as the doors of the clinic remained open all the time and that the clinic was one of the several clinics in the building.

All along, J.D. has pleaded not guilty and alleged that the woman cooked up the story because he refused to give her the medical pills she had been addicted to.

When the police seized the personal mobile phone of the accused, they found 37 photographs, including two photos of a woman's body. They also recovered two video files of a woman being examined.

According to court records, this is not the first time J.D. is facing such a charge. In 1999, he was charged with molesting a patient in Rashid Hopsital. In 2006, he pretended to be a gynaecologist and sexually harassed a female patient. He had also taken pictures of a female patient with his own mobile while she was lying on the clinical bed.

Judge Fahmi Mounir is scheduled to pronounce his verdict on July 13.

Passport forgery

AN UNEMPLOYED Somali, who stood trial yesterday in the Criminal Court of First Instance on charges of counterfeiting a Somali passport, has pleaded guilty to all the charges.

A.O.N., 19, is accused, along with a suspect who is at large, of forging a passport issued in the name of A.O. by replacing the photo and altering the date of birth. He is also accused of using the fake passport to acquire many documents including a driving licence and a visa.

He was nabbed by Dubai Police around 8pm on February 27 this year during a crackdown on illegals in the Naif area when he failed to give his sponsor's details.

As per the court records, A.O.N. used the fake passport for obtaining driving licence.

He also handed the passport over to the Immigration authorities to get a visa as well as to the airport officials on arrival and departure from the country.


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