Teens given job at salon, forced into prostitution'

Dubai - Duo charged with human trafficking as they exploited teens after luring them to come to the country with job offers in a beauty salon.

By Marie Nammour/Senior Reporter

Published: Mon 24 Aug 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Mon 24 Aug 2015, 8:44 AM

A 40-year-old man and his female accomplice allegedly sexually exploited two teenagers under threat and intimidation after luring them to come to the country with job offers in a beauty salon.
In the Court of First Instance on Sunday, the duo was charged with human trafficking. The male accused has also been accused of facilitating prostitution.
The girls were allegedly sexually exploited from April 24 to June 9.
The first victim, a 16-year-old Bangladeshi, said in the public prosecution investigation that she was promised a job in a beauty salon.
The male defendant picked her up from Sharjah International Airport and took her to a flat in Dubai. The accused then seized her passport.
"There, the female defendant (30) told me I would be working in a massage centre. I told her I wanted to work in a beauty salon," she told the prosecutor. The following day, the male defendant dropped her at a flat where she met many Asian women who were working as prostitutes and masseuses.
"A Chinese woman tried to talk to me but I did not understand what she was saying. A Bangladeshi woman there told me that my job would be to give massages to men and work as a prostitute for the Chinese woman."
The male accused assaulted her when she refused to do the job. "He gave me a choice to work as a prostitute or be jailed for 10 years. Since I did not have any other choice, I succumbed to his demand."
A few days later, she told him she wanted to go back to her home country, but he said she had to pay him 100,000 Bangladeshi Takas first.
The girl managed to escape from the defendants' flat and asked a motorist to drop her at the nearest police station. She was later referred to the Dubai Establishment for Women and Children.
The second victim, a 15-year-old Bangladeshi, gave a similar account. She said she arrived in the UAE on April 25 after the defendants offered her a job at a beauty salon.
She managed to escape and sought help from the police.
A police lieutenant said they found that the defendants were staying in a flat in Al Nahda-2.
On June 14, the police raided their flat and arrested them. "Apart from the defendants, we also found the female defendant's sister, an eight-year-old boy and a newborn."
The officers recovered the teenagers' passports from the flat.
The court adjourned the hearing to September 2.
mary@khaleejtimes.com