Man cleared of robbing woman in Dubai hotel room

Dubai - He first met the woman on a chat application.

A 27-year-old man has been acquitted by a Dubai court of robbing a woman of Dh7,600 after he invited her over dinner at his hotel room.
The Jordanian man, on a visit visa, earlier denied a robbery charge at the Court of First Instance.
The complainant, a 28-year-old Dominican Republic national, said she had met the defendant on a chat application about one hour prior to the incident. "He claimed he did not speak English. But he invited me to dinner at the hotel room where he stayed."
He welcomed her into his room and shortly later asked whether she had any money. "I would not give him any. He then told me about his desire to have sex with me. My reply was also negative and as I was about to leave, he grabbed me by force and snatched my purse and stole my money," she said during the public prosecution investigation.
The woman had to call the hotel security after the defendant locked himself up inside the bathroom. She claimed that he stole Dh 7,700 from her.
The incident allegedly took place in the end of September 2018.
An Indian security guard said the two parties, involved in the case, arrived to the reception then went to the defendant's room. "About 15 minutes later, the woman came down claiming that the guest had stolen Dh8,000 from her. I got up with a reception employee to his room and found the woman's purse and shoes outside."
When the hotel staff knocked on his door, the defendant came out but denied having taken any money from the complainant. The accused could not also work out any solution to the problem with her, which prompted her to call the police.
When the police arrived and searched the defendant's room, they found amounts of money with him. An amount of Dh7,600 that was found with the defendant remained seized at the public prosecution pending the trial.
The public prosecution has appealed the acquittal verdict.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai