A taxi driver, who has been charged with sexually assaulting a Filipina passenger, claimed at the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance that the passenger had allowed him to touch her, as she didn’t have money to pay the taxi fare.
The woman had chosen to sit in the back seat of the taxi while on her way to her accommodation located in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi city, but the driver asked her to sit in the front seat, Khaleej Times quoted her as saying.
While on their way, the driver reportedly started staring at her. “The man then drove to a remote area and stopped on the road side,” the alleged victim reportedly said. Then the man started groping her.
The Filipina told the court that she managed to escape from the driver and got out of the car. She ran to her home and informed the police, who later arrested the taxi driver.
At the court, the accused denied molesting the woman stressing that he touched her with her consent when the woman said she was unable to pay him the taxi charge.
“She hired the taxi to go home. But after reaching her destination, I asked her to pay the taxi fare and she said she didn’t have any money. She then told me that I could do anything to her to spare her from paying the money,” Khaleej Times quoted the driver as saying.
The man reportedly told the court that he was surprised when the police later arrested him over the woman’s complaint. The trial will resume on February 28.
