DUBAI // A 62-year-old man turned his apartment into a brothel where seven prostitutes worked, Dubai Criminal Court was told.
In 2015, the Chinese defendant, along with a Bangladeshi man, brought two Bangladeshi girls to the UAE on the promise of jobs in beauty salons. When they arrived, the girls, aged 15 and 16, were taken to the brothel in a building in Al Mankhool and were told they would work as prostitutes.
“I was offered the job by a countryman and when I came to Dubai in 2015 he took me to a flat run by Chinese people and I was told about my work in prostitution,” said the 16-year-old.
“I refused but they threatened to have me locked up for 10 years.”
She was able to escape a few days later after finding a key and taking a taxi to the nearest police station. Officers raided the flat a few days later.
“We raided the apartment and found the women’s passports and other objects used in the sex industry,” said a police lieutenant.
Seven Bangladeshi women stayed in the apartment with the defendant, said the building’s Sri Lankan security guard. “I didn’t know why they were there. When I asked, they told me that the women were on visit visas to find jobs and didn’t have a place to stay.”
The next hearing will be on May 17.
salamir@thenational.ae
