Jail for stalker who called Dubai doctor 50 times a day asking for marriage

Man became obsessed with woman after meeting her at a sports club in Sharjah and began calling her up to 50 times a day asking her to marry him.

DUBAI // A stalker who threatened to burn down a woman's house has been sentenced to a year in prison.

AH, 23, an interior designer from Lebanon, became obsessed with the female doctor after meeting her at a sports club in Sharjah last July and began calling her up to 50 times a day asking her to marry him. On one occasion he arrived at her house and demanded to see her, but when she refused he threatened to burn down her house.

The Criminal Court heard that when the pair met he pretended to be a nutrition specialist and offered to help the woman on a weight-loss programme.

She gave him her number, but he started calling her repeatedly to ask her out on dates. He soon progressed to telling her he loved her and wanted to marry her and then to following her whenever she left her house. He also called her father and sister.

The woman said she had wanted to avoid calling the police, hoping he would stop on his own accord, but he continued. Once he went to the hospital where she works and honked his car horn until she agreed to meet him.

During September last year, he arrived at her home and again started honking. "The security guard called our apartment and told us he was causing disturbance honking his horn continuously and told me to call the police," recalled the woman.

Police arrived and arrested him, but while he was in custody he continued to call her and threatened to kill her if she did not drop the case.

The woman's sister testified that the man would call more than 50 times a day and send insulting, blasphemous messages.

In evidence, prosecutors listed 232 outgoing calls from the man to the woman as well as 55 text messages.

The man was convicted of issuing threats to kill and burn the victim. He was also convicted of blasphemy and insulting Islam, insulting the woman, and misusing the telecommunications to cause insult and disturbance.

He will be deported after completing his prison term.