Dubai: Two policemen have been jailed for three years each for requesting to have sex with a woman in return for not arresting her for flouting the residency law.

The two policemen, 22-year-old M.H. and 26-year-old M.A., stopped the 34-year-old Moroccan woman in a taxi along with a Kuwaiti man in Naif in February.

Upon discovering that she is an illegal resident, the policemen were said to have requested to have sex with her in the form of a bribe against not detaining her.

On Sunday, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the duo of abuse of power and requesting a bribe in the form of sex. Records said M.H. and M.A. tried to strike a deal with her by promising not to take her into custody if she agreed to have sex with them.

The defendants entered a not guilty plea.

While delivering Sunday’s ruling, presiding judge Mohammad Jamal said: “The two convicts will be expelled from their duty [at Dubai Police].”

During the trial, M.H. denied abusing his work at the police force and requesting a sex bribe.

Meanwhile M.A. argued: “I did not request her to do anything.”

Prosecutors said the culprits asked the woman for sexual services in return for letting her go although she was wanted for breaching the residency law.

The Moroccan woman said the defendants asked her to present her personal identification documents at 3am.

“When one of the suspects asked me for identification papers, I handed him my passport. The other one, who was in the police car, checked my name. When they discovered that I was wanted for flouting the residency law, M.H. asked me to follow him to the police car. He told me that he would let me go if I agreed to go with him to a hotel the next day. When I asked him why, he said because he wanted to sleep with me. I provided him with my mobile number only as a friend… nothing more.

“He told M.A. that he had agreed to go with me to a hotel the next day. M.A. then informed M.H. that the Moroccan women usually ditched policemen by not answering their calls. They asked me to go with them to the police station… then they phoned one of their colleagues who spoke to me in Moroccan slang. That person told them to let me go because I am not a bad woman. Then they dropped me at the Fish Roundabout in Deira and refused to return my passport. They said they would only return the passport the next day after having sex with them,” she said.

A police lieutenant testified that the woman reported the matter to the police the next day.

She cooperated with the police and the defendants were arrested in a sting operation, according to the lieutenant.

Sunday’s ruling remains subject to appeal within 15 days.