Egyptian woman denies coming to the UAE to work as a prostitute

ABU DHABI // A woman has been accused of prostitution after reporting a man to authorities for taking her money on the promise of a job.

R M, from Egypt, told the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court on Wednesday that she had paid an Egyptian UAE resident, A, to come to Abu Dhabi and work at his cafe.

“He took Dh20,000 from me, but the whole month I did not do any work, or get any money back from him. I came to work at his cafe because my son is ill in Egypt and needs medical treatment,” she said.

The man she accused of taking her money has also been accused of “taking advantage of R M’s prostitution”.

Upon being presented with written statements issued to police and prosecutors, R M said: “I don’t know how to read and write. I can only write my name. I don’t know what they said. If he will not give my money back I just want to travel home to my mother and son.”

A also denied using R M for prostitution services, claiming she tried to blackmail him.

“I paid for her ticket to come and she never paid it back,” he told the court. “She had a one-month visa and I told her if it works out to recruit her at the cafe we will do that. It did not work out … and then she demanded I pay her Dh5,000, or else she said ‘I will show you what you have not seen before’.”

Police also found A to be in possession of alcohol. He argued it was in his rented room, and not in the cafe. “It was inside a closed bag and I swear to God it is not mine,” he said.

A verdict will be announced on June 24.