Businessman found not guilty of attacking woman in lift in Dubai

DUBAI // A businessman accused of attacking a British woman in a lift when she spurned his advances was found not guilty by the Criminal Court on Sunday.

Last December, HK, 28, a Pakistani, denied charges of sexual assault and physical assault on F O, 23.

Prosecutors claimed that at 2.30am on May 31 last year the woman was returning from a birthday party to her flat at Tecom.

While waiting for the lift in her building, she noticed a man was waiting there too and he held the door for her.

Once in the lift, H K tried to flirt with her. When she did not respond, H K allegedly stopped the lift and punched her in the face.

“He grabbed my hand then punched me on the face throwing me back to the lift’s wall,” claimed F O.

He then grabbed her by the neck and groped her.

F O managed to press a button to open the door of the lift, but H K pulled her by her hair to stop her escaping.

He eventually fled when F O screamed loudly.

“I saw two people at the 17th floor after the attacker ran away, I told them what happened and they called police,” said F O.

A A, an Emirati policeman, said he attended the scene after a Syrian family had reported a sexual assault.

“They said that heard a woman crying and when they talked to her she told them about the attack so they called police,” said A A.

Police suspected a man who had repeatedly entered the building and F O identified him from a photo.

A medical report from Rashid hospital said F O suffered scratches to her neck and chest.

However, the court acquitted H K of all charges.