DUBAI // An unemployed man who followed a flight attendant home before breaking into her apartment and attempting to rape her has been sent to prison.
Estonian Q R, 26, had finished work and was returning to her flat in Al Qusais on the night of January 24 when she saw someone following her.
“I first noticed him near the lift of the building where I live then I saw him following me,” said the woman.
She said that the defendant, P J, 27, from Sierra Leone, knocked on her door and pushed it open, taking her by surprise, before dragging her into the bedroom. He ripped off her clothes and tried to rape her as she screamed for help while resisting him.
The man then ran away, stealing Dh200 from her purse on his way.
The Estonian woman then called police. An examination confirmed her injuries were consistent with her story. She had bite marks on her right hand as well as a number of scratches and bruises.
DNA samples taken from under her nails were linked to P J, who was also seen on security camera footage as he followed the woman to her flat.
At Dubai Criminal Court he denied charges of attempted rape, robbery and drinking alcohol without a licence. “No, I did not,” P J responded to every charge.
However, on Wednesday he was sentenced to one year in jail, to be followed by deportation.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
