Dubai restaurant owner rapes jobseeker after luring her into his office

A restaurant owner was charged on Sunday at the Dubai Court of First Instance for allegedly raping a woman at his office.
Court documents show that the 47-year-old Afghan businessman forced himself on the victim, an Algerian, after luring her to sign her "hiring contract".
The incident that took place on May 22 was reported at Al Muraqqabat police station.
The victim recounted she had worked at the defendant's restaurant in Al Riqqa and had been sacked seven or eight months prior to the incident. Sometime later, she learned that the restaurant was recruiting staff. "At 9pm, I applied for a job there and met with the owner. We sat at a table and he offered me a new job as a waitress."
She told the prosecutor that the owner then asked her to go to his office to sign the employment contract. "It was 10pm then. I had been there before when I went to sign my previous contract.  As soon as I stepped inside the office, he locked the door with a key and started to touch and hug me."
The woman was shaking with fear. She asked him to open the door and let her go but in vain. He threatened to kill her if she did not do as he pleased. She said she did not scream for help as she felt scared that the defendant might indeed kill her.
The man raped her. He only got away from her when she started to scream as she was bleeding profusely. The victim told the investigator that the accused deflowered her. "The owner said he would marry me. He then went to the safe and brought me some cash. I don't know how much it was. He requested me not to call the police," she recalled.
Before she left the office, he pulled the money from her hand and took part of it, giving her the remaining amount.
She went back to her place which is nearby, but did not find her flatmate. An employee at the restaurant helped her call the police later.
A policewoman escorted her to her flat and seized the amount of money. Tissues she used to clean up the blood were also found in her purse. She told the police she stayed at that office for about half an hour.
A police lieutenant, who reported to the crime scene after receiving the complaint, said: "The victim was crying and looking nervous and afraid. I did not then spot any apparent injury marks on her body. She told us how she was raped by the accused. The latter denied the woman's claims saying instead that 'she was lying as she wanted money'."
The lieutenant pointed out that the forensics experts picked up evidence from the crime scene. "We did not see blood. The owner must have washed the splatters off the bed."
The trial will continue on September 25.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai