Man who threatened to chop up teenager in Dubai jailed for five years

Man jailed for five years for luring 18-year-old to the UAE, beating her and forcing her to work in a brothel by threatening to kill and mutilate her.

DUBAI // A man who forced a teenager into prostitution by threatening to kill her and mutilate her body was jailed for five years yesterday.

The girl was lured to the UAE with the promise of a job as a maid but was instead locked up in a brothel, beaten with a belt and threatened.

She and another prostitute, who had been held captive for two years, were freed after she told a customer of her ordeal and he contacted the police.

The 18-year-old victim arrived in the UAE in November last year after a man approached her husband in Bangladesh and convinced him to pay 70,000 taka (Dh3,300) for her travel expenses so she could take a job as a maid with an Emirati family.

But when she arrived in Dubai, Bangladeshi R A took her passport and plane ticket and locked her in a flat in Fareej Al Marar.

He and the brothel’s madam, N R, beat the teenager with a belt and threatened to kill her and chop her into pieces unless she prostituted herself.

The girl said the accused was the first man to have sex with her.

“The madam would take all the money coming from sex then give it to [the man],” the teenager said.

She claimed customers were charged between Dh50 and Dh500 depending on the length of time they spent with the prostitutes.

She and a 20-year-old woman, also from Bangladesh, were not allowed to leave the apartment.

The second woman said she arrived two years ago after her father was told she would work as a maid in Abu Dhabi.

But she was also taken from the airport to the brothel, assaulted, threatened and forced into prostitution.

Both women were freed after the teenager told a customer.

“He was a good man, he listened to me then had me write my complaint, which he took and gave to police,” the girl said.

Police raided the flat and arrested everyone inside.

In court last May the accused denied knowing the women and denied human trafficking. The madam denied human trafficking and promoting prostitution.

Both were convicted at the Criminal Court yesterday. The man will spend five years in prison, while the madam was jailed for three years. Both will be deported after their prison terms. The brothel has been closed.