Trying to be nice might get you arrested

ABU DHABI // A man who deliberately touched a woman in public was “only trying to be nice”, the Criminal Court heard on Thursday.

J M, an Emirati, was accused of forcefully touching the girl’s arm in a clinic in the capital.

However, during investigations, the girl, N M, also an Emirati, said she did not remember if he had in fact touched her or not.

The defendant’s lawyer presented video footage of the incident that occurred on March 3 at 8.45pm. The video showed the girl walking past J M, who was at the reception counter at the clinic. It then showed him looking towards N M, and pointing his finger at her.

The footage was repeated three times before the judge asked the defendant to comment.

“What is your purpose in speaking to her?” the judge asked.

“She was holding a bag, as you can see. The things inside were about to slip out and my intention was to warn her about it, nothing else,” he said. “I did not touch her, I only pointed towards her. My finger touched her abaya because of her movement.”

He said that “she also insulted me numerous times, but I let her be”.

His lawyer, Hadeya Al Hammadi, said that the footage was proof that no crime had been committed.

“He did not mean to touch her, it happened because of her movement. N M herself said she did not know whether he touched her or not,” she said.

“He was trying to be nice, and to do something good. He is young, he just found a job a month ago. It is harmful for him to remain in prison with other criminals,” Ms Al Hammadi said, pointing out that her client had no criminal record.

She requested bail and the immediate acquittal of the defendant.

The verdict will be heard on March 19.