Investor on trial for molesting two maids

dubai — A 68-year-old man has been charged with two counts of molestation by a Dubai court after he allegedly sexually harassed two maids in his bedroom.

Prosecutors accused the Austrian investor of luring the two Filipina maids on two separate occasions to his flat and then molesting them inside his bedroom. He denied the charges at the Dubai Court of First Instance.

A case was registered on March 18 at Al Barsha police station.

One of the maids, 31, said during the public prosecution investigation that a few months prior to the incident, in which she was involved, the other maid told her that the accused had sexually harassed her. “She recounted to me how he let her inside his bedroom, asking her for massage, then he took off her clothes, kissed her and molested her. He then let her go.”

The maid added: “At 9pm on March 17, I went to his flat upon his request as I also worked for him. He told me to get inside his room to give him a massage.”

She got worried he would do the same to her as he did to the other complainant. “I put my mobile phone on a table on video mode. He sat on a couch and told me to get close,” she told the prosecutor.

She claimed he hugged and molested her after removing her clothes. She lodged a complaint shortly after leaving the flat.

The other maid, 34, gave a similar account of what the defendant did to her, alleging it took place on January 25.

A policeman said they received an attempted rape report in the morning of March 18. “We found the two women crying and looking scared. One of them showed us a video clip capturing the incident. When confronted with the footage, the accused tried to be elusive. We took him into custody.”

The video clip stored on the maid’s phone was checked by experts from the criminal evidence and criminology departments. It was used as the public prosecution evidence. The court will issue a ruling on November 29.