A cruel couple who held a teenage girl captive in a Dubai apartment and forced her to work as a prostitute have been jailed for a total of more than 15 years.
The victim, just 15, was tied up, beaten and raped during her harrowing ordeal after being lured to the UAE from her home in Bangladesh by the duo.
The man and woman, aged 30 and 33 and also from Bangladesh, were caught out after an undercover operation was set up by police acting on a tip-off last December.
Both were sentenced to seven years in prison on human trafficking charges at Dubai Criminal Court on Thursday.
It was not disclosed in court records why the victim had agreed to travel to the UAE.
The male defendant was also handed another year in prison for sexually assaulting the victim, while his accomplice's sentence was extended by six months for a prostitution charge.
Police found the young victim in a distressed state at an apartment in Al Mutaina, Dubai.
Officers discovered she had brought into the country using a passport which had altered to make her appear older than she was.
During the swoop, police also found a Bangladeshi woman, 34, and an Indonesian woman, 27, working as prostitutes at the makeshift brothel.
They were both handed six-month jail terms.
A medical report issued by Rashid Hospital found the girl suffers psychological problems and is prone to seizures.
The Bangladeshi human traffickers will be deported after serving their sentences, which can be appealed within the next two weeks.
