Six men who forced two absconding maids into prostitution — leading one of them to jump to her death while trying to escape her kidnappers — will see out their life sentences.
On November 14, 2015, two Indonesian housemaids were encouraged to abscond from their jobs by two men who locked them up in a flat in Al Rashidiya before selling them to four brothel-owners for Dh1,500 each.
The four who bought the women locked them up in the brothel they ran, forced them into prostitution then raped them
Prosecutors said a 25-year-old defendant took one victim with him to his room in International City and locked her up after having sex with her.
The next day, he told investigators that he left to go to his job as a security guard but was called by one of the other defendants in the brothel to tell him that the woman in his room had jumped from the roof of the building and died.
Police received a report of a woman's dead body and rescued the second victim after raiding the apartment and arresting the Bangladeshi defendants.
During questioning, they admitted to having sex with the women and locking up the woman who died in one of the flats.
In July 2016, Dubai Criminal Court sentenced the men — aged between 25 and 44 — were convicted of human trafficking. Two of the defendants were also convicted of kidnapping the women and locking them up while the four others were convicted of raping the two women and running a brothel.
All six were sentenced to life in prison and fined Dh100,000 each.
They denied all charges at the criminal and appeal court but will have to see out their life sentences — which is 25 years in prison. All of them will be deported upon completion of their sentences.
