Dh3,000 fine for man who beat his wife after molesting step-daughter

DUBAI // A man assaulted his wife after she allegedly caught him molesting her nine-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, a court heard.

The 33-year-old Russian woman reported her Emirati husband, who is 45, to police on April 7.

She claimed that when she returned to her home in Al Nahda Area 2 she found her daughter lying on top of her husband. She said that sparked a heated argument in which her husband hit her with a stick.

The husband admitted quarrelling with his wife that day but said it was caused by his refusal to give her a large sum of money. He said she assaulted him.

"She threw a pillow on me then started hitting me with her hands so I grabbed her hands to stop her from continuing."

The wife told police her daughter said  her stepfather had been molesting her for two years.

The daughter told prosecutors that he would touch her inappropriately when they were alone.

The husband denied the allegations, saying he treated the girl as if she were his own daughter.

Prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence on the molestation charge.

The husband denied the charge at the Court of Misdemeanours but was found guilty and fined Dh3,000 - a ruling he is now to appeal. The Appeal Court hearing is to start on October 16.

salamir@thenational.ae