Tourist accused of raping woman in Dubai

Dubai - In her statement, she said his friend tried to keep him away from her in vain because he closed the door.

A tourist allegedly raped a woman he had just met at a nightclub after inviting her over to his hotel suite, the Court of First Instance was told on Tuesday.
The 39-year-old Kuwaiti man pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In her statement to the investigators, the complainant, a 34-year-old Indian manager, said the incident happened on November 8, last year, after she met the accused at a nightclub in Dubai Marina. "He started a conversation with me and when I told him I held the US citizenship he said he was interested in doing business there," she said.
"He invited me to sit with him and his friend. Later, he asked me if I could drop them at their hotel in Al Muraqqabat as they came in a taxi".
The complainant added that the defendant invited her later to his room where she sat for a while and when she tried to leave he stopped her. "He slapped and punched me until I fell down. He then pulled me by my leg to the room and forced himself on me".
In her statement, she said his friend tried to keep him away from her in vain because he closed the door.
"We found the woman sitting in the lobby of the hotel. She said she had just met the two men at a nightclub. One of them asked her to drop them at his hotel. But there he invited her over to his room on the pretext of continuing their talk about his interest to invest in the US. They drank alcohol again before he physically assaulted and raped her," the police lieutenant, who listened to the complainant's account of what happened, said.
However, the lieutenant was told another story by the accused. "He said he was with his friend when they met that woman at the nightclub. He claimed she offered herself for sex for Dh2,500. They continued partying later in his room and after sex, she wanted Dh 7,000, which he did not have then and that was when she started to scream," the officer said.
"His friend gave a similar story and said they were both surprised by the cops coming to the room after the woman complained that she was raped".
Multiple scratches and contusions were found on the complainant's body which could not be self-inflicted according to the forensic report.
The DNA traces found on the complainant's body matched with the defendant's and there was evidence she had sex prior to the complaint.
CCTV footage showed both the accused and the woman entering the hotel suite around 3:51am. She stayed there for 4 hours and 14 minutes. They were seen holding hands with no apparent tension.
She walked out at 8:05 am and she looked normal and she did not appear as if she was running away from something.
The trial will continue on February 7.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai