Dubai cook who raped woman at knifepoint to must see out jail term

DUBAI // A cook convicted of raping a women at knifepoint and jailed for five years must see out his sentence, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

At a previous hearing, the Dubai Criminal Court was told how Sri Lankan W W, 23, attacked the 33-year-old Belarusian at her friend’s apartment on May 4 last year.

Prosecutors said W W lived in the same flat as the woman’s friend.

“It was 9am when he came asking about my friend. I told him he was at work and he then pushed me into the room and locked the door, hiding the key in his pocket,” said the woman.

“He said he wanted to have sex with me so I refused. He then pushed me, waving a knife in my face, asking me whether I would prefer to be killed or raped,” she said.

She tried to escape but W W had a hold of her hair, with the knife pointed at her throat.

“I told him that my friend’s roommate has another key and could come any minute and unlock the door, so he returned the key to the door,” she said.

The victim was then able to distract W W and run out of the flat. She reported the incident to the building’s security, who called the police.

“A woman came crying to me during my night shift and told me that a man had raped her,” testified Pakistani security guard S S, 36.

At the Dubai Criminal Court last September W W, who was drunk when police arrived to arrest him, denied rape and issuing threats to kill. He said that the woman made up the story after the two had an argument.

He will be deported after serving his jail term.