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Sri Lankan acquitted in Doha
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A Sri Lankan expatriate, who had languished in jail for almost four-and-a half years waiting for the judgment in his trial, has been acquitted of molestation charges by the Doha court of first instance on “technical and formality” grounds.
The judges heard that a Western family had complained against the man in May 2006 claiming that he molested their daughter (then 15) after accessing her room when she was alone at around 1.40am.
According to the chargesheet, the girl shouted during the alleged incident seeking the help of the neighbours as her family members were away.
The girl claimed that a “masked man covered my mouth with a piece of cloth in an attempt to prevent me from shouting.”
She told the interrogators three day after the incident: “I kicked him and forced him to escape through the kitchen window. Our neighbours rushed in soon after.”
Court papers showed that the molester had left his shoe behind in the plaintiff’s house and a police dog picked out the suspect, who was reportedly arrested from the street “hours” after the alleged incident, while he was walking near his accommodation on Salwa road.
The “girl” also identified the suspect in the police parade, three days after the incident.
The 19-year old plaintiff was summoned in June 2010 to narrate the incident that she experienced when she was 15.
Unlike her earlier version in the police records, she told the judges that the molester was able to touch sensitive parts of her body.
A neighbour said that he saw a “struggle” between the girl and the attacker, “who escaped when he saw me.”
The court marked “significant contradictions” in the testimonies of the plaintiff and her neighbour on the incident.
According to the court papers, the shoe that was supposed to be a key evidence in the case was damaged in the police premises.
Further explaining the acquittal, the court also said that the police failed to collect fingerprints from the scene and it was not clear in the case file when the suspect was arrested and how far from the plaintiff’s house.
In addition to that, the court said the accused had insisted his innocence since the beginning of the case.
The verdict, which was given some 53 months after the incident, has been challenged by the public prosecution, court sources told Gulf Times.
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