Officer jailed for role in having prisoner work as prostitute ‘should be bailed for Ramadan’, court hears

The police major, along with two officers, would arrange permits for woman to leave the prison, go to a brothel and then return.

ABU DHABI // A senior police officer jailed after arranging for a prisoner to work as a prostitute should be bailed during Ramadan, a court heard on Sunday.

Z S H, an Emirati, was sentenced to eight years by the Criminal Court for cooperating with three Bangladeshis to release of Indonesian, R D.

The woman told the court she was transferred from prison into an apartment on several occasions where she had sex with 10 to 12 men a day.

The police major, along with two officers, would arrange permits for her to leave the prison, go to a brothel and then return.

R D said she was paid Dh12 to Dh15 a client, while the three Bangladeshi men kept the rest of the money the men paid.

But defence lawyers appealed against the sentence. Mohammed Al Khazraji, Z S H’s lawyer, said: “It is Ramadan and the defendants are known as police officers. It would be appropriate to release them to spend the holy month with their families.”

The two other officers, H M and R F, were jailed for three years.

H M’s lawyer also requested his client be bailed, while R F is on bail.

The three Bangladeshi men – S A, M K and F M – were jailed for 10 years for running a brothel and persuading R D to work as a prostitute. However, they were cleared of bribing the police officers.

R D was sentenced to four years for prostitution.

It was not made clear the relationship between the police officers and the men who ran the brothel.

During a previous hearing, Z S H denied the charges, saying they were fabricated by people with a grudge against him as he had arrested more than 11,000 people for visa breaches.

It is believed the brothel was raided about a year ago.

The appeal hearing was set for September 23.