DUBAI // A clothes salesman who groped a woman who had been turned away from Global Village for not covering her body up enough was jailed for three months on Tuesday.
Pakistani salesman ZH, 33, touched Filipina JA, 31, on her breasts and private parts as he put an item of clothing on her. She had been turned away from Global Village on November 30 last year by a security guard, who showed her where the clothes shop was.
“When I was entering Dubai Global Village with my friend at around 5.30pm, security personnel at the gate requested that I cover up, because I was wearing shorts,” the receptionist told Dubai Criminal Court.
“He told me to visit a shop nearby and guided me there. When I reached the shop, the defendant invited me and my friend inside his shop then he showed me a piece of clothing that I could use to cover my body with.
“He told me that he will teach me how to tie it to my body, and proceeded to wrap it around my waist. Instinctively, I raised my arms a little bit, then he started to tie the upper part and I felt his hands touch my breast.”
The Filipina later told police that, initially, she thought he had touched her by accident but when he stretched the piece of clothing downwards to cover her legs, he touched her private parts, so she hit him on his shoulder.
The salesman backed off and she returned to the security guard, who called police when informed about the incident.
In her statement, the Filipina friend, MA, 38, said: “I saw my friend hitting him on the shoulder and screaming angrily and asking him in English why he touched her.”
ZH raised his hands and smiled in a sleazy way, telling JA that he did not do anything wrong, the friend testified.
The salesman denied a molestation charge in court last month but he was found guilty and handed a three-month sentence, followed by deportation.
salamir@thenatioanl.ae
