Fake sheikh 'tried to rape Dutch tourist', Dubai court hears

DUBAI // A man claiming to be a Saudi prince kidnapped a tourist, forced him to strip naked and attempted to rape him, a court heard today.

The tourist JW, 30, from Holland, believed he was meeting a prince to do a deal over more than 1,000 tonnes of gold, but he was instead taken to an apartment in Sharjah where he was beaten with sticks and forced to strip in front of a video camera. The tourist fled when the fake sheikh tried to rape him, but he was too scared to tell police as he still believed his attacker was Saudi royalty.

Prosecutors told the Criminal Court that the tourist was visiting the country in December last year when a business associate told him a Saudi prince wanted to sell 1,000 tonnes of gold. At the Crowne Plaza hotel, the so-called sheikh told him he would need a US$10 million (Dh36.7m) security cheque.

The fake sheikh and two of his friends drove him to a Sharjah apartment where he ordered him to strip in front of a video camera, but he refused and was assaulted once more.

The fake sheikh tried to rape the tourist, but the Dutchman fled.The three men - the alleged fake sheikh HE, 30, from Saudi Arabia; AF, 31, from Jordan; and AA, 34, from Yemen - all deny imprisonment and robbery. HE and AF deny kidnapping, while HEdenied assault. The case was adjourned to April 21.