DUBAI // A Dubai taxi driver has denied forcing a female passenger to sit in the front seat next to him and molesting her.
“I don’t know her and she sat in the front seat on her own – I did not molest her,” Pakistani S M, 36, told Dubai Criminal Court on Sunday as he denied a sexual assault charge.
The 27-year-old Japanese passenger, M S, said she flagged a taxi at about 10pm on November 28 last year from the front of the Marriott hotel in Al Jaddaf.
“It was a Dubai Taxi, and I asked the driver to take me to my home in Al Nahda 1,” said the air hostess.
She said the driver told her to take the front seat and, as he drove, he started chatting with her, asking if she had a boyfriend.
“I told him yes, I did. Then he started telling me that, sexually, I would like him better,” said M S.
“He then stretched his arm and touched my thigh and stuck his hand under my clothes.”
She said she pushed his hand away, after which he asked her if she drank alcohol, then he grabbed her phone and saved his number in it, so she could call him and they could set up a date.
She said she called police when she got out of the taxi.
Police and prosecutors said that during questioning, the driver confessed to sexually assaulting the woman.
A verdict will be issued on February 10.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Always use only regulated platforms
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Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
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1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
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Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
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The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
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Status: Single
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