Driver rapes Indian job seeker in his Dubai flat

Dubai - One of the flatmates helped her escape while a taxi driver helped her report the case.

A man was charged with rape on Thursday at the Dubai Court of First Instance after he was accused of raping a job seeker.
According to public prosecution records, the 25-year-old Pakistani man - working as a driver - lured the Indian victim to his flat after promising her a job. He was heavily drunk at the time of the incident.
The incident took place on March 14, this year, in Naif.
The victim, a 21-year-old on a visit visa, recounted how she arrived to the UAE on March 5 this year to look for a job. She stayed in Abu Dhabi with her aunt.
"One of the flatmates, a Pakistani, told me that her brother - the defendant - could get me a job," she told the court.
She discussed it with him on WhatsApp and after sending him her resume, he told her to come to Dubai.
He led her to a flat in Naif's Freej Al Murar.
"A Pakistani man interviewed me and offered me a job and a salary. He then dropped me at a nearby building where the defendant stayed. It was around 8 pm.
"The accused claimed he was busy at work, so I waited for him till midnight. When he arrived, he insisted I come to his flat to discuss recruitment and job details. He said he would drop me back to Abu Dhabi after we had dinner, claiming that he had already spoken to my aunt about it.
"Upon his insistence, I went with him," the victim told the prosecutor.
He took her to a studio flat where four Pakistani men were drinking liquor. He locked the door and took her mobile phone.
She added that he then took her to the balcony and placed a mattress against the window pane as a curtain.
He then forced himself on her by taking off her clothes - she cried and pushed him away, begging him to leave her alone. But he threatened to call his friends out to sexually assault her if she screamed and resisted.
The defendant then went to sleep after raping her.
One of the defendant's friends helped her by getting her purse back and letting her out of the flat.
The victim took a taxi to a police station, where she reported the rape to an investigator.
A Pakistani driver, 41, recalled that the complainant had stopped him at 4:30 am asking him to take her to Abu Dhabi, but he advised her against it as it is an expensive trip.
"I told her it is an expensive trip. She broke down and told me what she had just been through, after which I took her to a police station.
Later, I got a phone call from someone offering me money to not testify in the case, but I turned down the offer," the taxi driver added.
The defendant's DNA traces were found on the victim's body, according to the forensic report.
The victim recorded the call the defendant made from detention, in which he confessed to the crime.
The defendant admitted to the charges during the public prosecution investigation, after initially denying the charge.
He was also accused of consuming alcohol without a permit.
The man has been detained.
The trial was adjourned till June 13.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai