Driver accused of kissing passenger was “trying to open her door”, hears court

Man accused of kissing woman in his car tells court he was merely trying to open her door.

ABU DHABI // A married man caught kissing a woman in his car told a court he was only trying to open her door.

Iranian M M, who owns a mobile phone shop, said he was shopping at the Port Zayed souq when the woman called him and asked him to fix her broken phone.

He picked her up and she got into the back, but when she later tried to get out the door jammed.

“It was broken from the inside,” the Iranian told the Appeals Court. “I leaned over to the back to open it for her.”

A passing police patrol saw him and accused him of kissing the passenger, said the Iranian’s lawyer, Fayza Moussa.

“He was kissing Allah’s blessing,” joked Dr Khairi Al Kabbash, the head of the court.

The Iranian denied kissing the woman.

“I am an investor and I have a wife and a family at home, I do not need to do this,” he said.

Mrs Moussa recited a verse from a poem by an ancient Arabian poet, Imru’ Al Qays, in which he tells his lover he will kiss her 99 times but miss the hundredth kiss because he is busy.

“And we did not see anyone arrest Imru’ Al Qays or put him in jail,” Mrs Moussa said.

Dr Al Kabbash said the poet probably kissed his lover in a tent and not in public view in a car.

“They did not have cars back then,” Mrs Moussa said.

The case was adjourned.