Delivery man kissed woman at her Dubai home, court hears

The accused admitted to kissing her but denied any sexual assault charge, saying he apologised on WhatsApp

Pedestrians walk past Dubai's courts building during a hearing on April 04, 2010 in the case of a British couple sentenced to a month in jail after being convicted of kissing in public in a restaurant in the Muslim Gulf emirate. The couple's lawyer said the appeals court upheld the one-month prison sentence against the two, named by the British press as Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expat, and tourist Charlotte Lewis, 25. The couple were arrested in November 2009, after they were accused of consuming alcohol and kissing in a restaurant in the trendy Jumeirah Beach Residence neighbourhood.     AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo by AFP)
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A delivery man sexually assaulted a woman after dropping off a shipment at her home, Dubai Criminal Court heard on Sunday.

The accused, 35, went to the British woman’s home in Bur Dubai on December 4, to deliver a bicycle she ordered, when he kissed her against her will.

“The delivery man arrived at around 8pm and, when I opened the door to take the bicycle, he held my hand and kissed it,” the woman told prosecutors.

She closed the glass door but could see that he had not yet left.

“He placed the bicycle against the door and knocked again so I opened to take it.

“And when I did, he held both my hands, pulled me towards him and kissed me on the lips.”

The woman told the court she was scared and quickly closed the door again.

The accused waited outside for 15 minutes before leaving. He then sent her an apology message on WhatsApp and offered to be the woman's friend.

“He said he didn’t mean to kiss me,” said the woman, who took screenshots of the messages and filed a complaint with police.

She filed a complaint with police, who arrested the man. During questioning, he admitted to kissing her but denied sexually assaulting the woman.

“He told me he liked her. He admitted to kissing her and then apologising to her,” said a policeman.

The next hearing was scheduled for February 16.