Man molests 15-year-old boy on Jumeirah beach

dubai — A man was charged with molestation for allegedly sexually harassing a 15-yearold boy on a Dubai beach.

According to the public prosecution records, the 27-yearold Pakistani man, a driver, followed the Kyrgyzstani boy as he swam off Jumeirah beach and made more than one attempt to touch him inappropriately. He eventually got so close and grabbed the boy’s hand and forced him to touch him. He denied a molestation charge when he appeared at the Court of First Instance, claiming it was unintentional.

The boy’s mother said her parents and a friend were with her and her son on the beach at 3pm on March 30, this year.

“I noticed a man (the accused) following my son from a short distance and trying to talk to him. He kept following my son even though he was apparently avoiding him,” said the 37-year-old clerk. “Later, I asked my son what was wrong as I saw he looked embarrassed. He recounted how that man had been stalking him and trying to make him touch him.”

The mother added that she tried to understand from the defendant the motive behind his behaviour shortly after the incident. “He ignored me and tried to run away but could not because of some beach goers who gathered around him until the police arrived.”

The accused denied molesting the boy. The mother’s friend testified during police questioning, he saw the accused getting close to the boy more than once. “But I did not witness the incident. When I asked the accused later about what happened there, he said he was sorry.” A court ruling is to be pronounced on May 27.