DUBAI //A 26-year-old unemployed Emirati convicted of kidnapping, beating and threatening to rape and kill a Filipina visitorwas sentenced in absentia to six months in prison, a court ruled this morning.
The 31-year-old tourist, JM, was approached about 4am on April 15, 2010, by the suspect, MA, and his uncle while she was waiting to meet a friend in front of the house where she was staying in Satwa, the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance was told.
The men stopped their car, flirted with her and offered her a ride, which she declined, court records of her testimony show.
"When I refused to join them, I walked away and [MA] chased me with his car and blocked my way by parking it in front of me," JM told prosecutors.
The men then opened the car doors, pushed her to the ground, kicked her in the head and pulled her by her hair towards the car, prosecutors said.
MA was charged with kidnapping and threatening the women with rape and murder. His uncle, identified as WH, was not charged in the case.
When JM tried to escape, MA slapped her, pulled her hair and punched her several times, court records of her testimony show.
"He tried to pull me inside the car and slapped me around, then put me on the floor and stepped on my neck and kicked me in the head," she said. "My friend arrived and tried to pull me away, but WH grabbed her."
WH and MA grabbed JM by her hands and legs, put her inside the car and pulled her friend inside too, records show.
"WH was driving towards Mirdif, while MA was telling me that he had 10 friends there and that they will rape me and kill me, as he was punching me in the car," she said.
When the kidnappers arrived in Mirdif they met five men, then drove back to Satwa with the women and parked in front of MA's house. It is unclear why the men returned.
"I jumped out of the car and raced to a grocer, asking for help," court records of JM's testimony show.
The men dumped the other woman on the street and fled, records show.
Police were called to the scene, as well as an ambulance. MA was arrested on August 11, 2010.
He did not appear in court to enter his plea in the first hearing.
salamir@thenational.ae