A worker has lost his appeal and will be jailed for six months for trespassing into the residence of a muezzin [who calls people to prayer] and molesting the latter’s sleeping wife.
The woman was sleeping when her husband, the muezzin, went to the mosque to call for Fajr [early morning] prayer in December 2017.
The woman first thought that her husband had kissed her but realised that it was someone else when she heard her husband’s voice calling for prayers.
As she opened her eyes, she saw the 36-year-old Pakistani defendant who was about to kiss her lips before she screamed and the worker rushed out of the house.
The accused was apprehended shortly after the incident from Al Rafaa.
In February, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the defendant for six months for molesting the woman and trespassing into the house.
The accused appealed the primary judgement and asked the Appeal Court to overturn his punishment.
Presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm dismissed the man’s appeal and upheld his six-month jail term.
The accused, who had pleaded not guilty, will be deported after serving his punishment.
“She is like a sister and I didn’t molest her,” the defendant argued in court.
The woman testified that at first, she thought it was her husband who had caressed her face and kissed her forehead.
“Once I heard my husband’s voice calling for the Fajr prayer, I opened my eyes quickly. The defendant was just about to kiss my lips but I prevented him instantly and screamed. He rushed out of the house,” the wife said.
The muezzin said he saw the accused offering the Sunnah [prayer before the main prayer] at 5.30am.
“When I finished the call for prayer, I saw him there as well. When I went to my residence [located within the mosque’s premises], I saw my wife in a state of shock. She was crying as she told me about the incident … then I rushed to the mosque. The defendant was still there and when I confronted him with my wife’s claims, he asked me to forgive him and not to call the police,” the muezzin added.
The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
