A Danish expatriate has been charged with sexual molestation after allegedly groping a waitress’s buttocks while intoxicated at a Dubai beach club.
The 44-year-old was also charged with abusive language and the excessive consumption of alcohol. The waitress, a 29-year-old Macedonian, testified that the defendant arrived with two friends and wanted a table without a reservation – which is against club policy.
A club official first spoke to the group and asked them to leave. The defendant then jumped into the club’s swimming pool fully-clothed and then returned to the table, at which point the group was again asked to leave by the employee.
This time, the waitress tried to reason with the group.
“I told them that they could not have a table without ordering drinks,” she said, according to Gulf News. “While I was discussing the issue with them, the suspect came very close to me. I tried to stay away from him … but he came very close and caressed my bum.”
“He then told me: ‘F**k you’,” the waitress told The National. When the waitress screamed, the security guard threw the group out.
CCTV recordings from the club showed a man grasping the waitress’s buttocks firmly, and a security guard then forcing him and his friends out. The guard testified that it is the club’s policy to closely observe visitors who are suspected of being drunk. He also confirmed that he “spotted the suspect putting his hand on [the waitress’s] back and groping it”.
The defendant admitted to the consumption of alcohol, but denied the other accusations. “No, I am not guilty. I did not touch her. And I did not curse anyone,” he said in court.
No details of the Dane’s identity have so far been released by the court, other than him being a general manager who works in Dubai, and his initials possibly being ‘OR’.
A similar case over the summer, in which a man groped a 23-year-old, resulted in a sentence of six months in prison.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 5.
