DUBAI // A businessman attacked a British woman in an lift when she spurned his advances, the Dubai Criminal Court has heard.
On Tuesday, H K, 28, a Pakistani, denied the charges of sexual assault and physical assault on F O, 23,
Prosecutors said that at 2.30am on May 31 the woman was returning from a birthday party to her flat in 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 didn’t respond, H K 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,” said 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,” testified 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.
The next hearing will be on January 4.
salamir@thenational.ae
