'Karate woman' foils rape attempt in Dubai

Dubai - The man drove her to an isolated spot and tried to rip off her clothes, but she fought back, causing him to flee the scene.

A driver, who tried to rape a tourist after kidnapping her - but failed thanks to her karate skills - has been sentenced to three years in jail.
The 23-year-old Pakistani earlier pleaded not guilty in court to charges of kidnapping, attempted rape, physical assault and theft charges. The Court of First Instance ordered his deportation from the country.
The defendant claimed the woman rode willingly in his car and was willing to have consensual sex, and that he only fought with her because she was drunk. "He claimed the woman agreed to have sex that night in exchange for Dh500. But he claimed that they later fought over the place," a police lieutenant said.
The driver is believed to have offered the woman, a Georgian citizen, a ride to a flower shop when she was waiting with her friends outside a hotel at 10.30pm on November 22 last year, in Al Rafaa.
But he drove her to a deserted area in International City where he tried to rape her, in vain.
The tourist said she was at the hotel to attend a friend's birthday party. "We wanted to buy flowers, when the driver offered to drop me at a nearby shop," she said. But he drove to a dark, isolated location. After stopping the car, he punched her on the face and ripped off her shirt.
The woman took off her shoe and hit him on the face to stop him. At this point "he stopped to tell me to arrange my clothes, as he would drop me back to the hotel," she told the prosecutor.
But then the driver pulled her hair and tried to rip off her clothes again. During questioning, the woman said she was a karate professional.
The man then drove away taking her purse with Dh1,500, passport and mobile phone.
The complainant's compatriot friend said she knocked on her door at midnight. "She was crying and her clothes were blood soaked; she had a black eye, scratches and bruises on her arms. Her shirt was ripped off, and she had no shoes on."
The police arrested the driver in Ras Al Khor industrial area on November 25. He can appeal the ruling.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai