Iraqi national team pole jumping coach Fadahil Abbas Hasan was on Friday released and his prosecution on a sexual harassment charge deferred until an as yet unspecified date after he reached an out-of-court settlement with his accuser.
The Iraqi national team was in Taiwan attending the 16th Asian Junior Athletics Championships.
The prosecution said Hasan, 47, assaulted a staff member at the Fullon Hotel in New Taipei City where he was staying.
Prosecutors quoted the staff member as saying that Hasan pointed to pornographic ads and asked: “Can I take a woman here?” at least twice.
Hasan allegedly feigned to have forgotten his key card at about 10pm on June 11, prosecutors said, adding that after tricking the staff member into the room on grounds that he did not know how to use the power outlet, he locked the door.
When being questioned by prosecutors, Hasan said that he asked the worker to “sit on the bed,” because she was “young and pretty with a curvaceous figure,” adding that he initially offered NT$100, but after she refused, he offered NT$1,000.
However, after being refused twice Hasan allegedly hugged her from behind and kissed her for about 20 seconds, prosecutors said, adding that the coach said he put NT$20 in the worker’s front pocket.
The worker fled from the room, slid the NT$20 under the door and was found crying outside the room by her colleagues, prosecutors said.
When Hasan was brought to the police station for questioning, he said the incident was a cultural difference and that “kissing was a form of international courtesy,” but confessed to his actions after learning that there was a possibility he would be judged in Taiwan.
The prosecutors’ office decided — after obtaining the accuser’s consent — to allow Hasan to post bail for NT$150,000 and receive deferred prosecution.
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