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Woman molested after trying to help Lankan man
Dec 10, 201312:31 AM
A saleswoman told a Dubai court on Monday that she was molested after getting into a Sri Lankan man’s car after he asked her for directions to a hospital where his wife was in labour.
The 19-year-old Chinese saleswoman got into the 32-year-old Sri Lankan clerk’s car as she wanted to guide him to the hospital, she told the Dubai Court of First Instance.
The clerk, L.W., earlier denied kidnapping with deception and molesting and harassing the woman in Jebel Ali on August 13.
“When he pulled over he claimed that he was looking for directions to the hospital claiming that his wife was about to deliver. I got into his car out of compassion… suddenly he told me that I was pretty and had a sexy figure. He molested me and groped me… he also removed my trousers,” said the woman before presiding judge Urfan Omar.
Prosecution records said L.W. kidnapped the saleswoman and molested her in his car after he stopped and asked her for directions to a Dubai Metro Station.
Records said the Sri Lankan pulled over in front of the 19-year-old and asked her for directions at Discovery Gardens.
“Did you agree to ride with him or did he coerce you? Did you cry for help?” presiding judge Omar asked the plaintiff.
“I agreed to ride with him out of sympathy. He spoke to me in English. When he touched me indecently, I asked him to stop. Then he continued molesting me, so I cried and shouted. He used one hand to molest me and the other to drive. Following repeated attempts to open the door, I managed to step out of the vehicle. Immediately I called my friend who came after ten minutes and restrained him until the police arrived,” said the saleswoman, who was crying while giving her statement to the court translator.
During Monday’s hearing the defendant’s pregnant wife was spotted approaching the bench and pleading to the judge to release her husband on bail.
Compensation claim
Gulf News has learnt that the Chinese woman is considering lodging a civil compensation claim against the defendant.
“She might lodge a civil lawsuit against the suspect to seek compensation. However she has to fly to China [on Monday night] to visit her sick mother, who collapsed and has been hospitalised since she heard about the incident,” a source close to the case said.
A policeman testified before prosecutors that police arrested the defendant.
“L.W. denied at first that he molested the saleswoman or that he had seen her. Later he retracted his denial and confessed that he molested the woman, said the policeman.
The suspect’s lawyer will present his defence when the court reconvenes on December 16. – Gulf News
