Man sneaks into Dubai mosque, molests mu'adhin's wife

A 36-year-old man has been charged in a Dubai court after he allegedly sneaked into a room annexed to a mosque and molested the mu'adhin's (one who recites the call for prayer) wife as she slept.

Public prosecution records show the Pakistani man took advantage of the fact that the woman's husband, a mosque mu'adhin, had just gone for dawn prayers, to go to his room and molest the wife, kissing and touching her face.

He denied charges of molestation and trespassing into others' property when he appeared at the Court of First Instance. The incident took place in December last year in Al Rafaa.

The woman said her husband went around 5.15am to the mosque to lead the call for prayer. "While I was sleeping, I felt someone kissing me on my forehead and touching my face. I thought then it was my husband. But at that very moment, I heard the voice of my husband leading the prayer in the mosque. I then opened my eyes to see the defendant getting close to kiss me. He ran as I screamed in panic," the wife told the prosecutor.

Her husband said after he went for the dawn prayer, he spotted the defendant at the mosque around 5.30am. "He was still there when the prayer was over. When I went to my room in the mosque, I saw my wife was shaking in fear and in a state of shock. She told me a man entered the room, kissed her and touched her face. She said she could identify the man.

"I went back right away to the mosque and confronted the accused. He confessed it was true and begged me to forgive him. He begged for mercy and asked me not to call the police."

During public prosecution investigation, the defendant admitted he entered the room and kissed the sleeping woman on the forehead, claiming he left without drawing any attention.

The woman identified the accused three times at the police station.

The court is expected to pronounce a verdict on February 18.