DUBAI // A cleaner kissed a seven year old girl because she reminded him of his daughter, a court heard today.
SS, 44, from Bangladesh, approached the girl, from India, as she was playing with her friends in a garden at the Greens at about 5pm on April 14 this year.
Prosecutors told the Criminal Court that he caressed her and kissed her on the cheeks and lips, but the cleaner said his motivation was innocent.
He said that he often patted the girl's head because she looked like his daughter. He said on the day in question he both patted her head and kissed her once on the cheek.
However, the girl said he also kissed her on the lips.
"He was wiping the floor but when he saw us, he put aside his broom and walked towards me, he hugged me then kissed me on the cheeks and lips," recalled the girl. She said she pushed him and ran to her friend's apartment before going home and telling her mother.
The cleaner was charged with molestation, which he denied.
A verdict is expected on June 27.
salamir@thenational.ae