New York: Nearly two weeks after the
arrest of a former IMF chief over sexually abusing a maid in a
swanky Manhattan hotel, an Egyptian businessman was on Tuesday
arrested here on similar charges.
Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar has been arrested for
allegedly locking a 44-year-old maid in his room at the Pierre
Hotel in Manhattan, which is owned by India's Taj Hotels
Resorts and Palaces.
The New York Post cited police as saying that the
incident was strikingly similar to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the
former chief of the IMF.
The 74-year-old Egyptian allegedly locked the maid in
his room on Sunday around 6 pm after requesting tissues be
delivered to his room. He grabbed her breasts and rubbed
against her, the paper quoted police as saying.
He was charged with sexual abuse, unlawful
imprisonment, forcible touching and harassment.
Omar is currently the board chairman of the El-Mex
Salines Co, a state-run salt production company, according to
his biography. He is also the former chairman of Egypt's Bank
of Alexandria and he has also board chairman of the Egyptian
American Bank and chairman of the Federation of Egyptian
Banks.
On May 18, Strauss-Kahn quit as the chief of the IMF
after he was charged with sexually assaulting a maid at a
different city hotel, Sofitel, near Times Square.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 23:04