DUBAI // A housemaid who had just landed at Dubai airport was abducted and raped by a driver who claimed he was her sponsor.
Indonesian MS, 36, landed at the airport on October 4 last year and was waiting for her sponsor, who is from Al Ain, when Pakistani defendant NA, 42, approached her and said he was her sponsor.
The woman was taken to a remote area in Sharjah where she was assaulted, threatened and raped before being dumped in an urban area that she knew nothing about.
The Pakistani driver is charged with kidnap, rape, assault and issuing threats, all of which he denied in court.
“I was in the back seat then he stopped the car and sat near me and asked me to have sex with him,” said the maid.
“I said no, so he slapped me and threatened to kill me if I did not. I got so scared knowing no one here but I still said no to him. He then punched me and raped me.”
The woman was released near to Dubai airport but she did not know that until she stopped a passing car and asked its male driver.
“It was nearly 4am when I saw her waving from under a tree on the road,” said Filipino motorist EM, 46.
“I stopped, she asked me if this was Al Ain and I said it’s Dubai. She then asked to use my phone and, when she dialled a number and talked to someone, she started crying. I couldn’t understand anything from her language but I could see some bruises on her face.”
Police were called and the defendant was arrested having been found back at the airport.
Officers said he confessed to all charges but that he was drunk at the time.
When he was questioned by prosecutors, he denied all charges and did the same in court.
Forensic experts confirmed that the woman was raped and found traces of DNA in the back of the driver’s car that matched both him and the victim. The forensic report also said that the woman’s injuries were consistent with an assault.
The next hearing will be on February 8 to appoint a defence lawyer.
salamir@thenational.ae
