Rape, trafficking of minor earn two men 10 years

DUBAI // A disabled man who appeared in court in a wheelchair and an accomplice were sentenced to 10 years this morning for raping a 17-year-old girl they planned to force into prostitution.

The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance ruled that MM, a 42-year-old Bangladeshi, raped the girl, also from Bangladesh, after luring her into the country with promises of a decent job as a maid.

MM and his compatriot MR, 28, were also convicted of human trafficking for locking up the girl and a Bangladeshi woman and forcing them to work in prostitution.

According to court records, the father of the 17-year-old victim told her she would go to Dubai to work as a maid. But when she arrived on January 6 she was taken to a one-bedroom apartment and locked up for seven days.

She was then taken to another flat where MM raped her to prepare her for prostitution. She told prosecutors she escaped during a taxi ride, running screaming into a crowd of people. Police later raided the flat where the girl was kept and found the second victim.

Both men will be deported after their sentences.

salamir@thenational.ae