A Dubai-based domestic worker got her employer arrested for sexual assault after secretly filming the incident, Emarat Al Youm reported.
The Asian woman anticipated that the 68-year-old European employer would assault her after learning that her colleague was molested. The man had previously harassed one worker after asking for a massage.
The first victim told the woman about her vile encounter in an attempt to warn her. Unable to escape, the woman used her mobile phone to film the horrific incident.
She later reported the matter to Dubai police, handing over the footage as evidence.
The victims were living in fear
After local police received a report on the incident, they arrived at the scene and found the two women crying.
The victims showed an officer the footage and appeared to be terrified of their abuser.
The defendant denied he had assaulted the women when he was first confronted by police. He only admitted to sexually harassing them after he was shown the video secretly captured by one of the victims.
The man's case has since been referred to the country's public prosecution office. He now faces a jail sentence.
Sexual harassment laws in the UAE
Though there are no specific laws or regulations that protect victims of sexual harassment in the UAE, the country's Penal Code still incriminates incidents of assault.
The code criminalizes any "scandalous and disgraceful act" which includes those involving sexual abuse and harassment.
Articles 358 and 359 of the penal code provide more specific and clear-cut legislations when it comes to such incidents.
Article 358: "Whoever openly commits an indecent and disgraceful act shall be punished by detention for a period of at least six months. Whoever commits a disgraceful act with a girl or boy who has not completed fifteen years of age even if it is not committed openly, shall be punished by detention for at least a period of one year."
Article 359: "Whoever attempts to disgrace a female by words or by deeds in a public street or frequented place, shall be punished by detention for a period not exceeding one year and by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dirhams or by either of these two penalties. The same penalty shall apply to any man who disguises himself in a woman's clothing and enters a place the entry into which is reserved for women. If a man in such a case commits a crime, it shall be considered an aggravating circumstance."