DUBAI // A driver has denied pulling an 8-year-old into his car and forcing himself upon her.
At Dubai Criminal Court on Sunday, Pakistani H K, 38, denied a sexual assault charge.
“I did not do any of those things, I saw her next to a supermarket and she asked me to drive her home, and that’s what I did, I treated her like she was my daughter, and I didn’t molest her,” the defendant told judges.
Prosecutors said on November 30 last year, the girl, also from Pakistan, was buying some items for her mother from a supermarket near her house in the Al Rashidiya area.
“He came towards me and started talking to me then brought me fruit and asked me to try it but I refused and went home,” said the girl, adding her mother told her she bought the wrong items and asked her to return to the supermarket and purchase the correct ones.
“When I returned I saw he was still there and offered me some fruit again but I refused, then he pulled me out of the supermarket and into his car,” she said.
She said he told her he only wanted to drive her home. “I told him that I did not ask of him to drive me home, he then took me to a nearby playground and parked the car,” said A N.
Prosecutors allege that H K started kissing, hugging and touching the girl before he took off his trousers.
“I begged him to take me back home and I was crying so hard after which he drove me back but asked me not to tell my family,” testified A N.
The girl told her mother who called the father and informed him of the incident. “Both of them, my wife and my daughter were crying hysterically on the phone when they told me what happened,” said the father A M, 44 who reported the incident to Al Rashisiya police station.
CCTV footage from the supermarket showed the defendant approaching the girl several times and sticking his body to hers before he took her out of the supermarket.
The driver was arrested on December 9 and prosecutors said he confessed to kissing her on the cheek and forehead only.
A verdict is expected on March 22.
salamir@thenational.ae
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The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
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In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
