A Dubai woman who struck up a WhatsApp-based friendship with a man she met at work was allegedly raped twice by him.
Prosecutors told judges at Dubai Criminal Court that the woman, a Filipino accountant, 25, met the defendent at the supermarket where she worked one month before the alleged incident, which took place on November 14 last year.
They exchanged numbers and messaged on WhatsApp before the accused, 29, from Pakistan, invited her to join him for dinner.
"On the day of the incident, I sent him a message to check he was OK and after chatting for a while, he invited me out. I said yes," the woman told prosecutors.
He picked her up from her residence and the pair had dinner, but when she wanted to go home, the man insisted they had tea together first.
"He drove to Al Qudra Road and stopped by a cafeteria. He ordered the drinks, before driving to an area I didn't know," she said.
The man allegedly stopped his car in an unlit sandy area then dragged her out of the passenger seat and raped her.
"I kicked him, trying to escape, but he bit my leg, choked me, slapped me and restricted my movement. Then he raped me twice," the woman told prosecutors.
She claimed that he threatened to kill her if she called the police, and then dropped her off at home.
"My friend saw me coming and asked me what happened. I told her, and then she helped me call the police," she said.
A medical examination confirmed that aggressive sexual intercourse had taken place.
The accused was apprehended the following day and, according to police, admitted to the crime during questioning.
The man's court plea was not available as the hearing was held behind closed doors.
According to his arraignment sheet, he faced charges of kidnap and two counts of rape.
The next hearing was scheduled on February 19.
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The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000