Farm worker jailed in Dubai denies raping maid

Dubai - He denied the charge in court, claiming it was consensual.

A farm worker, accused of raping a housemaid in the villa where he worked, lost his appeal against a one-year jail term given by a lower court.
The 31-year-old Pakistani was convicted in August by the Court of First Instance of raping the maid in her bedroom, taking advantage that they were alone in the villa then.
He took her by surprise and covered her mouth to stop her from screaming for help. He earlier denied the charge in the court, claiming it was consensual.
The Court of Appeals upheld his one year jail sentence on Sunday. The incident was reported to Al Barsha police on January 31.
The housemaid, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi, said that the accused was working at the villa at a time when she was the only one there. He finished his work and was about to leave.
"I was surprised by him hugging me and covering my mouth. He dragged me inside a room," she told the prosecutor. The maid claimed during the investigation that the worker raped her. She told the housewife about him when she arrived home. The police was then called.
"I came home around 7pm and found the maid crying. She told me she was raped but she had three different versions of what happened," the 31-year-old Emirati housewife said.
"The maid said that she entered her bedroom and found him there and he raped her. Then she claimed he dragged her by force from the kitchen to the bedroom. She alleged in another time that she was in the kitchen and he was in the bedroom".
A policeman said that the accused denied the woman's accusations: "He claimed she made the story up as she wanted to cause trouble to leave the house."
The forensic doctor, who examined the maid, confirmed she was raped. She could not, however, tell whether it was a forcible act for the absence of injury marks on her body.
Another expert also concluded that the DNA traces found on the maid's body matched the defendant's.
The appellate court also upheld the deportation order against the accused.
He may appeal the ruling at the Court of Cassation within 30 days.

- mary@khaleejtimes.com