Man rapes Dubai job seeker twice after luring her to hotel room

A man has been charged by the Dubai Court of First Instance for raping a job seeker twice at a hotel room.

Prosecutors accused the 23-year-old Egyptian man of manipulating the Filipina woman to think there was a job interview at a hotel. He then lured her to enter a room where he locked the door and forced himself upon her. He had also molested her inside his car.

However, he denied charges of rape and sexual assault.

The victim, a 27-year-old cleaner, said she was looking for a job as her visa expires in April. "I have two children to provide for back home. At 11.30 am on November 16, last year, I was heading to an interview at a hairdressing salon in Karama when a man initiated a conversation.

"He claimed his aunt had a business and would hire me as a secretary. I gave him my mobile number as I needed to be employed. I kept walking to the salon and was told that the manager was out of the UAE and would come back in three days," she recalled.

It was almost 1.30pm when she left the salon and received a phone call from the defendant. "He told me his aunt was willing to meet me at her office nearby. He was still down the building and I rode in his car upon his insistence. He said his aunt would meet me at a restaurant. On the way, he groped me while pretending he was looking for his cigarette pack that I was sitting on. He would not pull over and let me leave but instead drove faster and said his aunt was waiting for us," she said.

He stopped at a hotel and made her wait in the parking lot for a few minutes. He then took her inside a room where he entered the bathroom and lit a cigarette.

He raped her twice and then put Dh50 in her purse, she told the investigator. He then let her leave. She informed the hotel reception right away. The police arrived shortly later and arrested the defendant at the hotel in Silicon Oasis.

The latter's urine sample tested positive for hashish. The trial has been postponed to March 12.

mary@khaleejtimes.com 

• Dubai

Marie Nammour

mary@khaleejtimes.com