A man who tried to rape a woman he promised to help find a job will spend a year in prison.
On Tuesday, Dubai Criminal Court convicted the Emirati, 46, of luring the Filipina accountant, 26, to his mother's villa, beating her and trying to force himself on her.
Records show the woman was given the defendant's number by a friend who suggested she call him for help finding a job.
When she contacted him, he convinced her that he owned a travel agency in Burj Khalifa and offered her a job.
On January 31, the man picked the woman up in his car from Al Rashidiya Metro station to take her to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation where he said he would check her visa status.
“He returned to the car and told me that my residency visa was cancelled but also said not to worry. He said I could stay with his other employees at their labour accommodation and drove me to my place in Ras Al Khaimah so I could collect my belongings,” the woman told the court.
The man then drove her to a villa in the Al Rashidiya area – which turned out to be his mother’s home – and lured the woman into a room.
Records show that he then ripped off her clothes and tried to rape her as she resisted him.
He grabbed her mobile phone from her, so she could not call for help, then began hitting her. He banged her head against the floor, choked her and hit her with a broom stick before throwing her to the ground.
Eventually the man gave up, opened the door and told her to leave. The woman ran out and called police.
Police arrested the defendant on February 8 as he was leaving a pub.
“During questioning, he said he asked the woman for sex and she agreed but later she started to scream and then got dressed and left for no reason,” said an Emirati policeman.
Forensic experts said the bruises on the woman's story were consistent with her version of what happened.
In court last April, the defendant denied charges of physical assault and attempted rape.
On Tuesday, he was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison and fined Dh21,000 in compensation to be paid to his victim. He was also ordered to pay Dh500 in legal fees.
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5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
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8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
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8. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:00:03
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Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
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Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
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Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
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The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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Company name: Yeepeey
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Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
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England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
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Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
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ENGLAND SQUAD
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Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
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Karnataka Tuskers win by 19 runs
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Afro salons
For women:
Sisu Hair Salon, Jumeirah 1, Dubai
Boho Salon, Al Barsha South, Dubai
Moonlight, Al Falah Street, Abu Dhabi
For men:
MK Barbershop, Dar Al Wasl Mall, Dubai
Regency Saloon, Al Zahiyah, Abu Dhabi
Uptown Barbershop, Al Nasseriya, Sharjah
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Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
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Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
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0-100km/h: 3.0sec
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