Girl slaps driver in alleged sexual assault case

A girl, seven, slapped the family driver when he touched her inappropriately, Dubai Criminal Court has heard.

The alleged incident happened on May 12 as the youngster, from Syria, was sitting in the front seat. Her older sister was also in the vehicle.

The next day, as the three were on their way home, the same driver asked if the girl wanted to sit on his lap. When she refused, he touched her again.

"She yelled at him to remove his hand and slapped him when he laughed," the girl's sister, nine , said.

“I screamed at him and told him to remove his hand,” said the seven year old, who later told her parents what had happened.

“We didn’t know what he had done and we told her she shouldn’t slap a man of her father’s age,” said the mother. “But she told us that we didn’t know what he had done to her.”

The girl’s parents later called police after realising what may have happened. The driver, 34, an Indian national, was arrested.

He denied the sexual assault when he appeared in court. A verdict is expected on July 15.

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

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