A 45-year-old Sri Lankan, who allegedly groped a 13-year-old girl who was travelling alone in a flight, has been sentenced to one year in jail.

The Dubai Court of First Instance also ordered that the Sri Lankan vendor be deported after serving his jail sentence.

He also faced a charge of consuming liquor without a licence as he was under the influence of alcohol when he allegedly touched the girl inappropriately.

The incident was reported on November 5 last year, and happened about 15 minutes before the flight landed in Dubai.

The girl, who is from Singapore, said during the prosecution investigation that she boarded the flight from her country. The accused asked her if he could take her seat and she moved to the next seat.

She fell asleep after the cabin lights were switched off. She said she suddenly felt the accused touching her left thigh. She pushed his hand away and asked him to stop it. He then allegedly touched her inappropriately and she began to panic. He reportedly went to the extent of trying to unbutton her pants but on not being able to do so, he groped her.

The accused withdrew his hand as soon as the lights were turned on.

The defendant repeated the act when the lights were switched off again, she said. He hugged her from behind as she leaned on the front seat but she moved away from him. The girl said she felt “terribly scared” and did not know what to do as she was travelling alone.

After getting off the flight, the accused kept following her at the airport before she reported him to a security officer.

The girl’s father, a 52-year-old engineer, told the prosecutor that he saw his daughter, who was crying, coming out from the passport control section, accompanied by a police officer.

The vendor reportedly admitted during the prosecution investigation to consuming alcohol and molesting the girl as she slept. The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days. - Khaleej Times