Ex-employee sexually assaulted former sponsor's maid, Dubai court told

DUBAI // A maid was sexually assaulted after opening the door to one of her household's ex-employees, a court heard today.

AA, 37, from India, forced his way into the home and chased the maid into the garden before grabbing her and fondling her breasts, prosecutors told the Criminal Court.

She pushed him away and ran screaming to her room where she and another maid locked themselves in until he had gone.

The man, who had previously worked for the home owner as a driver, knocked on the door of the villa on February 1 this year. The maid answered and told him her sponsor was not present.

"He gave me his number on a piece of paper," recalled the maid, who said the man forced his way in as she tried to shut the door.

He grabbed her by the gown but she pushed him away and ran towards her room in the villa's garden. He chased her and caught her before she could get there and began touching her, but she managed to escape his grip and ran to her room where a fellow maid was showering.

The other maid, hearing the screams, opened the room's door and saw her co-worker being chased by the man. She let her colleague in and locked the door.

"He started knocking on the door and asked me to return the piece of paper with his number," recalled the maid. "I think he feared being traced by the number if I reported him to police."

The Emirati sponsor, SH, testified that he fired the driver four years ago when he discovered he drank alcohol.

The man was charged with sex assault and trespassing. He denied the first and confessed to the second. "I swear I didn't do anything wrong," he told the court.

A verdict is expected on April 7.

salamir@thenational.ae