DUBAI // A 21-year-old woman dialled 999 on her mobile and kept the operator on the line while she was molested by a soldier.
The 22-year-old Emirati sexually assaulted the Canadian woman in his car after driving to a desert area in Al Warqa in May this year.
The pair had previously met at a petrol station in Jumeirah and exchanged phone numbers. On the day of the incident, they went for dinner at a restaurant near International City.
“At 3am I told him to take me back to my car. He took a different road and placed his hand on my thigh before asking me to perform a sexual act, but I refused,” said the woman, adding the defendant threatened to hit her if she left the car.
“He threatened to slap me if I opened the door. I immediately dialled 999 and placed the phone beside me without him noticing. He then lay on top of me and started to molest me while I was resisting, screaming and crying,” the woman said.
A police patrol tracked down the victim’s phone using GPS.
“I parked in front of the defendant’s car to block him from escaping, the woman got out crying and came towards us. We arrested the serviceman and took him to the police station,” said a 37-year-old Emirati policeman.
In a recording of the phone call, the woman could be heard crying and saying “no” to the defendant, who threatened her and told her to spread her legs.
The soldier did not appear in Dubai Criminal Court to enter a plea to the charges of sexual assault, kidnapping and issuing threats. The next hearing is on January 10.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
