Underwater groping on Dubai beaches on the rise

Dubai shores are witnessing a rise in the disturbing trend of underwater groping, even as the police routinely cracks down on beach pests and has even set up a helpline on which the victims can report lewd behaviour.

Candice, a 28-year-old Filipina, went to the Jumeirah open beach with her husband and friends two weeks ago, but drifted further away from the group than planned.

Soon enough, she got a nasty surprise. "I felt a hand on my right leg. Someone had swum up under me, grabbed hold of my leg and was caressing my thigh," she told Gulf News.

Too afraid to react, Candice just swam back to shore and told her friends she was unwell and wanted to go home.

Candice admits to not being able to return to the beach on her own, and has had to find another area for her daily jogs.

Darleen, 31, who decided to go for a midnight swim at the open beach in Jumeirah had an equally harrowing experience.

"I noticed a group of young men also swimming not too far away. Thinking nothing of it, I closed my eyes and was floating when I felt someone swim up under me and graze past my body. It was two guys pretending that they made a mistake. But as they were trying to apologise, they were reaching out to me underwater with their legs," she said.

Darleen says she was so shaken up, she never ventured back to the beach after sunset.