UAE Verdict on schoolgirl molestation case next week

The Dubai Appeals Court will hand out its verdict on June 19 against a school bus driver and two supervisors, who Sunday denied molesting a four-year-old schoolgirl. The three Indian suspects — driver M.B., 44, supervisor J.T., 43, and his assistant V.S., 37, denied the molestation charges and pleaded not guilty when they appeared before Presiding Judge Eisa Al Sharif. In April, the Court of First Instance acquitted the suspects of molesting an Indian girl by touching her private parts. Defending the three suspects in courtroom 20 yesterday, advocate Samir Ja'afar contended: "Fabrication in this case is evident. The aim behind it is blackmail. The mother wanted to be hired at the school at a high salary and is seeking financial compensation or to ruin the school's image. On March 13, the mum sent two SMSs to the manager's private phone asking for her daughter to be readmitted in school. How can a mother accept that her daughter be readmitted in a school where she claims she got sexually molested?" According to the primary verdict sheet, the court disregarded the mother's statement because it was unreasonable and contradictory. Ja'afar said Sunday that the suspects' confessions were invalid and contradictory. "Their statements before prosecutors were also overlooked because they contradicted the evidence provided by Dubai Police's forensic doctor. Needless to say my clients were coerced and intimidated to confess to a crime which they did not commit," argued Ja'afar. He asked the Appeals Court to uphold his client's acquittal and reject the prosecutors' appeal to incriminate the suspects. Court records showed that forensic experts did not find any blood stains or semen traces on the bus. The rash and redness in the girl's private parts were caused by lack of hygiene or a disease. The forensic doctor confirmed that the girl was not molested.