Worker on trial for 'sexually harassing' Metro passenger in Dubai

Dubai - The incident was reported at Bur Dubai police station.

A worker went on trial at the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday for "sexually harassing" a pregnant woman on the Metro.
The woman said the 33-year-old Arab defendant, who is a kitchen worker, "repeatedly pressed his body against hers during the Metro ride", public prosecution records show. The incident was reported at Bur Dubai police station.
"It was around 5.45pm (on March 10). Shortly after boarding the Metro and as I was standing, I felt someone touching me. I looked behind me and saw him (the accused). Even though there was enough space to keep distance, he just stood very close," the 31-year-old Arab housewife said.
She walked away from him twice but he allegedly kept moving closer. "I knew he did it intentionally. He was quick to come closer to me each time. I also knew he did it on purpose from the way he looked at me," she recalled.
Upon seeing how angry she got, he told her that he would leave the Metro. "I chased him and screamed in a bid to get help from people around. He stepped off fast and I felt tired. To my surprise, once I got outside, he got on board again," the complainant told the prosecutor.
As she got on board, the man rushed to leave again. "The door closed before I could go after him," she recalled during the investigation.
The complainant stressed that she was sure the accused touched her on purpose. "He could have done that by mistake the first time. But to repeat it or not even change his posture indicates his act was not accidental."
A policeman said they tracked down the suspect through the CCTV cameras installed in the area. "He confessed that he touched the woman but claimed that the Metro was busy at that time." The defendant added that he ran away after the woman screamed.
A footage that captured the defendant stepping inside the Metro and standing right behind the woman had been presented as evidence. It showed her turning around repeatedly towards him and then chasing after him.
A ruling will be handed down on August 24.
mary@khaleejtimes.com 

• Dubai