A British man was detained in Dubai for sexual assault after touching a hotel security guard’s hip.
In a statement, 52-year-old John Murphy said he was with his wife and her cousin in a hotel in Abu Dhabi when the incident happened.
His cousin works as a sports masseuse and got into an argument when the staff thought he was there to give a massage with no permission from the hotel.
The security got involved and Murphy said their body language was confrontational. Fearing that he might get assaulted, he performed a maneuver to dodge the guards.
In the process of doing so, Murphy touched a guard’s hip with his right hand which was considered a sexual assault under UAE law.
Murphy is a resident in Dubai and worked as an operations manager. He has already posted bail but his case will be sentenced this week.
He was told to prepare himself for up to three years prison time followed by deportation.
