Tuesday, Jun 18, 2013
Dubai: A man charged with molesting a woman in Wafi City’s car park has been cleared and will be treated for schizophrenia at a psychiatric hospital.
The 39-year-old Emirati, A.M., had been charged with molesting the 28-year-old British woman while she stood beside her car.
“A.M. has been found not liable for his actions and will be admitted into a psychiatric hospital for treatment,” said Dubai Court of First Instance’s Presiding Judge Mohammad Jamal on Tuesday.
A.M.’s advocate Saeed Al Gailani said before the court that his client lacked any criminal liability as he suffered from schizophrenia.
In March the court sentenced A.M. in absentia to three months in jail for molesting the British woman.
Police later arrested the Emirati, who did not then have a lawyer and forwarded him to justice. Thereafter the defendant hired Al Gailani and a retrial was held.
“My client is schizophrenic and he cannot be held liable for his actions… that’s in case he was the one who did it. However, he did not drive his car on December 17 when the incident happened. It could have been someone else driving the car. The surveillance cameras did not expose the face of the person who drove the car and molested the claimant,” said Al Gailani.
The woman testified that the incident happened around 3pm when she was standing in front of her car.
“I noticed a car coming behind me. Someone stretched out his hand and pinched my behind. When I turned back to check, I spotted the SUV and the defendant’s arm outside the window… then the car disappeared,” said the woman.
A report from Dubai Police’s forensic department said the footage obtained from closed-circuit television cameras confirmed the woman’s statement.
Al Gailani argued the claimant did not confirm whether it was his client who molested her.
“She could not identify the driver’s face and she did not identify my client at the police line-up. A.M. is innocent and didn’t commit any crime,” he said.
Records said the suspect admitted that the SUV’s number plate as recorded on the surveillance cameras belonged to him and that no one else drove the car except him. However, he pleaded not guilty.
By Bassam Zaza?Legal and Court ?Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
