A woman died falling from an apartment balcony while trying to flee from three men who locked her up, robbing her and had sex with her, Dubai Criminal Court was told.
On November 11, the Uzbek trio — aged between 24 and 35 — allegedly came to an agreement with the woman that she would have sex with the three of them in return for Dh1,000.
CCTV footage showed the men and the woman — whose age and nationality were not disclosed — entering a hotel apartment rented by one of the defendants, 31, in Al Qusais.
The footage then showed two of the men running out of the hotel shortly after.
Meanwhile, police received a call reporting a woman having fallen to her death from the third floor of the hotel apartment building.
"When we arrived and found the woman dead, she was fully dressed, her clothes were not torn and there were no signs of force or assault," said an Emirati police captain, 31.
He said that upon inspection, they found minor knife wounds on both her hands and dust on her clothes.
"Our investigations revealed that she was trying to escape being locked up by the men in apartment 306. The woman tried to jump to the next apartment's balcony but fell to her death," he said.
An Emirati police major, 35, said they arrested the 31-year-old defendant after the receptionist told them he had booked the apartment.
The accused allegedly told police that he and his two compatriots met with the woman at a nightclub and agreed to go to the flat and have sex but said he then left the apartment before anything happened. The man said he only returned after receiving a call from the woman asking him to come back, and once he did, he found police and an ambulance on site.
"I checked the cameras and saw the three of them getting into the hotel along with the victim, so I asked the defendant to call his two friends and to ask them to meet with him back at the hotel, when they arrived, we apprehended them," said the police major.
He said the two defendants were drunk when they arrived.
Investigations revealed that the two men who remained with the woman, fought with her when she tried to leave the apartment after receiving a call from another customer.
"They argued with her that their time was not up but when the argument escalated, they threatened her with a knife which caused her injuries on both hands," said a policeman.
He said the two men locked the door to prevent her from leaving and she tried to jump to the next flat but fell.
A medical report revealed that the woman had sex with all three men.
The three denied charges of confinement and theft but admitted to having consensual sex with the woman.
The two who remained in the flat when she jumped, admitted an additional charge of consuming alcohol without a license.
The next hearing is scheduled for April 17.
