Tennis coach loses appeal after being fined Dh2,000 for harassing pupil

The Dubai Criminal Court has rejected an appeal by a tennis coach who was fined Dh2,000 for harassing a teenage pupil.

On May 29, the coach, from Uzbekistan, followed the girl, 16, from Pakistan, and took her by surprise while she was jogging in a neighbourhood in Al Muraqqabat.

Judges were told he had approached her on his motorbike and grabbed her arm.

“He pulled me towards him and said he wanted to talk to me, so I screamed at him and took a picture of his motorbike number plate,” she told the court.

Despite walking away, the man followed her, so she called her older brother for help, the court heard.

“When my brother came, the accused fled,” the girl said.

She said the coach sent her dozens of messages on Instagram and Facebook telling her he wanted to be her boyfriend but that she needed to lose weight.

“He sent the same messages 10 times a day for several days before I blocked him,” the girl told the court.

UAE legal reforms: Senior judge says tougher harassment laws better reflect modern society

The girl, who played tennis at a club in Al Barsha, told her father who reported the incident to the police.

During police questioning, the coach denied the charges and said he met the girl by coincidence while running an errand in the same area.

“She was taking a picture of my motorcycle, so I asked her why and then I noticed she wasn’t paying attention, so I tapped on her shoulder,” the man said.

The court convicted the man of harassing the teenager and fined him on July 28.

While you're here

Con Coughlin: To survive, Nato must renew its sense of common purpose

Gavin Esler: Nato summit failed for making news more than it made deals

Simon Waldman: Nato continues to be Ankara’s best security guarantor

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic

Power: 169bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh54,500

On sale: now

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

How our nine-month-old has made the Canadian winter a little bit warmer for us

Canadians rallying around a targeted Syrian restaurant is telling about attitudes to migrants

Don Cherry and the real issue with being one of 'you people'

Stormy seas

Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.

Herc's Adventures

Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates