Expatriate raped on day she arrived in Dubai, court hears

Man accused of locking victim in room, threatening to kill her with knife and then sexually assaulting her.

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DUBAI // An expatriate woman was raped on the night she arrived in Dubai, a court heard today.

The Bangladeshi paid Dh6,000 to a man who promised to get her a job at a beauty salon, but when she arrived at Abu Dhabi airport on November 24 last year, she was driven to Al Muraqqabat and locked in a one-bedroom apartment.

"I woke up after midnight to someone touching me," testified the woman. She said that JA, 45, from Bangladesh, was naked and asked to have sex with her but she refused. "I could smell alcohol on him," she said.

The man left the bedroom but returned soon afterwards with a knife and threatened to kill her unless she had sex with him. He then raped her three times.

"I was crying all the time and he did not care," said the woman.

After the attack both of them fell asleep. When she awoke the next day she went to the balcony and screamed for help, attracting the attention of the building's security guard, who notified police.

The man was charged with rape, illegal consumption of alcohol and residing in the country illegally after being deported.

At the Dubai Criminal Court the man denied the rape charge claiming that the sex was consensual. He confessed to the other two charges.

The next hearing was scheduled for February 17.

salamir@thenational.ae