Dubai: A carpenter has been accused of raping a cleaner at City Walk while she was cleaning a washroom.
The 47-year-old Indian carpenter, S.S., allegedly dragged the 25-year-old Nepalese cleaner out of the washroom, forced her into a small fitting room where he slapped her repeatedly before raping her in July.
Later, the victim rushed out of the washroom and alerted a guard about what had happened.
The guard called for an ambulance and reported the matter to the police, who apprehended S.S. who had been hiding between two cars in City Walk’s open parking.
The suspect refuted the accusation of raping the woman when he showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday.
The prosecutors said the suspect pushed the 25-year-old woman into the fitting room where he slapped her and forced her to have sex with him after pinning her down on the floor. “That did not happen … I did not rape her,” S.S. told presiding judge Mohammad Jamal.
The Nepalese woman claimed to prosecutors that the defendant 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 ran away. Thereafter I fixed my clothes and alerted the security guard about what had happened,” she testified to prosecutors.
A police lieutenant claimed to prosecutors 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 suspect, who had been hiding in the parking, the latter claimed that he slapped the woman after she cursed him in the washroom. He alleged that when he entered the washroom again, the cleaner removed her clothes by herself and cursed him … he alleged that he does not remember what happened later because he was drunk. Later he claimed that they had consensual sex,” the lieutenant testified to prosecutors.
Presiding judge Jamal said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect on November 15.
