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29 March 2024

Property agent jailed for groping client

Published
By Eman Al Baik

A Pakistani real estate broker was found guilty of sexually assaulting a Filipina when she was viewing a flat to lease. He received three months jail sentence.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance also ordered WM, 25, to be deported after serving his jail term.
 
According to the records, in August 2015, EM, 31, an air-hostess by profession, was looking for an apartment to rent. She found one on a real estate website and called on the given number to view the flat.
 
“On August 13, I went with WM to view the flat. I saw the flat in Al Nahda area and signed the contract immediately. I even handed the cheques over to the broker. After leaving the flat, he offered to drop me back home and so agreed since I did not have a car,” the victim told prosecutors.
 
On the way home, the broker offered the woman help to transfer her furniture to the new apartment.
 
She agreed to take his help and when they reached her flat, she invited him to view the furniture and give her an estimate about the cost of moving.
 
“We got into my flat and I left the door open. He viewed the bedroom and as we were stepping back into the hall he asked me why I had left the door open.  I answered that I left it open because there is a stranger in my house,” said the victim.
 
He then tried to convince her to trust him as he was with her in the other flat and he had offered her a lift in his car.
 
Then the broker asked her for a cup of water. As she stepped into the kitchen, he followed her.
 
She gave him a cup and asked him to fill it himself from the bottle.
 
He then asked the woman if she had children.
 
“As I replied negatively, he strangely said: “This is the reason”. Enquiring what he meant by that, he offered to help her conceive saying that he had experience in that. I shouted at him and asked him to leave the flat while stepping towards the door. He followed me and stuck his body to my back, and asked me to be quiet. I heard some people in the floor’s corridor. I shouted for help and so he got scared and got out of the flat,” said the victim.
 
The woman informed her husband about the incident. The couple complained against the broker by informing his employer before reporting to the police.
 
The employer testified that the victim called him weeping and told him that the broker groped her.
 
“I told her that she has the right to complain to the police. When I confronted the broker in the meeting room in front of the entire company’s staff, he denied the accusation and requested to chat privately. I refused,” said the employer.