Man sexually assaults mentally ill woman in Dubai hotel

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Man sexually assaults mentally ill woman in Dubai hotel

Dubai - The man introduced himself using a fake name and lured the woman into meeting him.

By Marie Nammour

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Published: Fri 11 Jan 2019, 4:01 PM

A Dubai court charged a driver for allegedly luring a woman, who suffers from mental illness, into a hotel room, where he sexually assaulted her.
Prosecutors accused the 32-year-old Pakistani man of taking advantage Emirati victim's vulnerability. The man forced himself on the epileptic woman on September 19, 2018.
He denied the sexual assault charge at the Court of First Instance.
The 38-year-old victim said during the public prosecution investigation that she suffered from a mental illness and had been on medication for psychosis and epilepsy. She said that on the day of incident, she was not fully aware of her actions as she had stopped taking her medicines. "I met the defendant on Instagram and he introduced himself as an Emirati man."
She recounted how he asked to meet with her at a hotel room rather than at a public place.
"He claimed he wanted to see me in private and that he wanted to talk to me freely. I was not in my right mind when I went to the hotel and booked a room in my name," the victim said.
She told the investigators that the suspect suddenly took her to the bed and assaulted her. "I could not keep him away or even scream for help."
She later confided to her mother and lodged a complaint at the Bur Dubai police station. She told the police how afraid she felt of the defendant and how she was not aware of what was going on. She also said that she began to hear voices in her head."
She also visited her psychiatrist who prescribed the necessary medication for her.
A medical report, enclosed to the case file, and issued from a specialized medical centre, said that the victim first visited the centre in April 2015. She was then diagnosed with bipolar disorder and suffered from episodes of depression and psychosis. The file also mentioned that she was a frequent patient of the psychiatric ward.
The medical report also confirmed that she could not be held responsible for her actions at the time the incident took place as she had not been taking her medications. She relapsed and was behaving in a manner wherein she was not been able to foresee the legal and future repercussions of her actions.

The accused, who is in detention, confessed during the public prosecution investigation and police interrogation that he had given a fake name and lied to the victim. He also admitted to coercing the victim multiple times into meeting him.
 
The court will pronounce a ruling on January 28.
 
mary@khaleejtimes.com

mary@khaleejtimes.com


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