Filed on May 14, 2018 | Last updated on May 14, 2018 at 06.30 am

He denied a molestation charge when he appeared at the Court of First Instance, claiming it was unintentional.

A man was charged with molestation after he allegedly sexually harassed a 15-year-old boy on a Dubai beach.

According to the public prosecution records, the 27-year-old Pakistani man, a driver, followed the boy, a Kyrgyzstani, as he swam off Jumeirah beach and made more than one attempt to make him touch him inappropriately. He eventually got so close and grabbed the boy's hand and forced him to touch him.

He denied a molestation charge when he appeared at the Court of First Instance, claiming it was unintentional.

The boy's mother said her parents and a friend were with her and her son on the beach at 3:00pm on March 30, this year.

"My parents sat down relaxing while my friend went to buy a meal. I walked down the beach watching my son swimming. I noticed a man (the accused) following my son from a short distance and trying to talk to him. He kept following my son even though he was apparently avoiding him," said the 37-year-old Kyrgyzstani clerk.

"When my son swam and then went to his grandmother, I talked to him. I asked him what was wrong as I saw he looked embarrassed and not at ease. He recounted how that man had been stalking him and trying to make him touch him. He repeated his moves towards my son more than once even though he was pushing his hand away."

The mother told the prosecutor that the defendant managed to grab her son's hand by force and make him touch him, prompting him to push his hand away and leave the water.

The mother added that she tried to understand from the defendant the motive behind his behaviour shortly after the incident. "He ignored me and tried to run away but could not because of some beach goers who gathered around him until the police arrived."

A policeman said the accused was caught on the spot by officers from the criminal investigation department. "He denied that he molested the boy, claiming that he touched his chest by mistake."

The mother's friend testified during police questioning, he saw the accused getting close to the boy more than once. "But I did not witness the incident. When I asked the accused later about what happened there, he said he was sorry."

A court ruling is to be released on May 27.

mary@khaleejtimes.com