Manager accused of molesting woman ‘was only removing dust’, Dubai court told

Egyptian man charged with sexual assault on Filipina 19 years his junior was so tense that the presiding judge threatened to jail him for contempt of court if he did not stop talking.

DUBAI // A manager accused of molesting a woman he was interviewing for a job was merely dusting her behind, a court heard on Monday.

Prosecutors charged Egyptian S A, 40, with sexual assault, which he frantically denied at Dubai Criminal Court, talking and arguing throughout the hearing.

“I swear I never did that, I was forced to confess, your honour – I request that you summon the prosecutor who interrogated me and have him take the oath and then tell you if this story is true,” said the defendant, who also accused the woman of fabricating her story.

When the presiding judge asked him to stop talking or else he would face jail for contempt of court, he replied: “I will not be quiet.”

Records show that 21-year-old Filipina J K arrived in Dubai on a visit visa to look for a job.

“I posted an ad on Dubizzle with my phone number on it,” she said in her testimony.

Days later she said she received a missed call from a number and, when she called back, it was S A telling her he was looking for an administrative assistant.

“We agreed to meet the following day at his company offices,” she said.

On the morning of January 12 she headed to the site he told her to go to only to find that it was an empty office with one desk.

“I sat and we talked about my qualifications then he had me do some documents on a laptop he had with him, after which he said I passed the interview and that I’ve to come back in the morning to start work,” the woman said.

She said she shook the Egyptian’s hand but he kept holding on to her hand. She felt uncomfortable and hurried towards the door to leave but found the door locked. “I then felt his hands on my behind. He claimed he was removing some dust and I told him that I can do that but he continued doing it anyway,” she said.

He then opened the door and she headed home, where she told her brother about what had happened and he took her to a police station to report the incident.

During police and prosecution investigations S A insisted that he did not touch her on purpose and he that he was, in fact, removing dust from her trousers.

The next hearing will be on April 6.