UAE: 3 men get life imprisonment for rape attempt in desert, drug abuse

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court has sentenced three accused to life imprisonment on the charges of deprivation of liberty, attempted rape and criminal involvement.

According to a criminal court judgement, the first accused (M.M) was jailed for three years and fined Dh50,000 for substance abuse (psychotropic drugs), an additional one-year prison term for damaging a police patrol vehicle by crashing into it. The accused was also handed down a six-month prison sentence for driving under the influence of psychotropic drugs along with a fine of Dh30,000 with his driving licence being suspended for the remaining period of validity, prohibition to renew the same or obtain a new licence. He was handed down another six months in prison and a Dh30,000 fine for driving a car with a registration plate that was not visible as it was covered in dirt.

The second accused (S.M.) was sentenced for three years in prison along with a Dh50,000 fine for substance abuse . The third accused (A.S.) was sentenced to two years in jail along with a fine of Dh50,000 for drug abuse as well.

The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution has affirmed that the safety and security of community members is a top priority with relevant authorities mobilised to deal firmly with violators and criminals in accordance with the law.

The prosecution commended the role of the Abu Dhabi Police in responding promptly to the complaint filed - arresting the perpetrators in record time and bringing them to justice where the most severe penalty was imposed, which would act as a deterrent to anyone committing such crimes.

Case details

Abu Dhabi Police was informed about an assault in the desert, where the victims were approached by three people in a vehicle, who seemed to be under the influence of drugs, with the two of them threatening the first victim with a knife to stop him from intervening, while the third accused grabbed the female victim and tried to rape her, but she resisted.

The other two criminals also attempted to sexually assault the woman.

The first victim had managed to escape and alert the police, who rushed to the site of the incident. The police managed to catch the perpetrators after a brief chase.

One of the accused, while trying to escape in his car, deliberately hit the police vehicle, damaging it and endangering the lives of the police officers on board.

The three accused were arrested and brought before the Public Prosecution, which interrogated them and ordered their pre-trial detention before bringing them before the court and requested that the maximum sentences be imposed on them.