DUBAI // Two police officers kidnapped and raped a woman after using their authority to stop the taxi in which she was riding, a court heard today.
The officers are also accused of stealing Dh750 and two mobile phones from the taxi driver.
The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance has charged MA, 29, and MF, 26, both Emiratis, with kidnap, rape and carrying out police work that was not their specialisation and was not assigned to them.
Prosecutors said the two men stopped the taxi which the victim, identified as DB, had entered near Arabian Mall in Al Mizhar. They presented their police identity cards and asked the woman to present her labour card, according to court records.
The men allegedly forced the woman out of the taxi and into their civilian vehicle after she could not produce her labour card, and demanded she come with them to the police station.
The taxi driver, SN, 27, told the two men that he knew the woman, and that she was not illegally residing in the UAE. The driver told investigators that one of the suspects said that taxis are there to transport customers, not friends, and slapped SN on the face. The driver said the officers forced him into their car, and one of the suspects drove the taxi while the other drove the officers' car.
They travelled to a remote area in Muhaisnah. When they arrived, the officers threatened the taxi driver with a stick and asked him to leave. They stole his two phones and the cash from his wallet, court records said.
The officers then raped the woman in the back seat of their car near the Etisalat Police Academy, according to court records. They later dropped her off near her house in Al Mizhar.
Police were able to identify the suspects because they had criminal records, and had previously followed a similar criminal method, according to court records. They were arrested at their workplace.
Court records did not specify what charges the officers had previously faced, or why they were able to continue working as police officers with criminal histories.
A third policeman has been charged in connection with the case for allegedly possessing stolen items, knowing that they had been illegally obtained. Court records did not specify what the stolen items are.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 12.
