Dubai: A carpenter has been jailed for 15 years for raping a cleaner at City Walk.
The 47-year-old Indian carpenter dragged the 25-year-old Nepali cleaner out of a washroom she had been cleaning and forced her into a small fitting room where he slapped her repeatedly before forcing himself on her in July 2016.
The victim rushed out and alerted a guard about what had happened. The guard called for an ambulance and reported the matter to police, who apprehended the carpenter, who was hiding between two cars in City Walk’s open parking.
The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the 47-year-old of rape although he had pleaded not guilty.
Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal ordered that the defendant be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The Nepali said the accused was drunk when he dragged her out of the washroom and pushed her into the fitting room.
“He took away my phone when I tried to call someone. I cried loudly for help … but he muzzled me. He forced me into the fitting room beside the washroom and repeatedly assaulted me when I refused to have sex with him. Then he pinned me down to the ground and raped me. While he was abusing me, he heard footsteps and realised that someone had walked into the washroom. He left me bruised and absconded. I fixed my clothes and alerted the security guard about what had happened,” she testified.
A police lieutenant testified that when he arrived at the location, he saw the cleaner crying hysterically inside the ambulance while paramedics were treating her.
“After my colleagues apprehended the accused, who hid in the parking, the latter claimed that he slapped the woman after she cursed him in the washroom. He said when he entered the washroom again, the cleaner removed her clothes by herself and cursed him; he alleged that he did not remember what happened later because he was drunk. Later he claimed that they had consensual sex,” the lieutenant told prosecutors.
Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
