Dubai: A businesswoman has been accused of offering bribe to a labour inspector to write a good report about her female-only spa to remove a previously-imposed ban that she got because she allowed massage for men.

The 46-year-old Chinese businesswomen, J.W., who owns a female-only massage and relaxation spa at Mina Road, had earlier received a labour ban on her spa since she was caught flouting labour laws by allowing her masseuses to massage men from time to time.

Records said when the Emirati inspector went to the spa on an inspection visit to examine whether the laws were still being breached, J.W. offered him Dh2,000 hush money.

Prosecutors said the businesswoman asked the inspector to write a good report about her spa to be able to remove the ban that had been imposed on her earlier.

“Yes I offered him Dh2,000… but it happened upon his request. He asked me to pay him money and that’s what I did,” argued J.W. before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Thursday.

Meanwhile her lawyer asked presiding judge Urfan Omar to grant his client a lenient punishment.

Sting operation

The Emirati testified to prosecutors that the incident happened when he went to inspect the spa on December 16.

“I walked into the spa and presented my identification card. When I asked the defendant about the function of her spa, she told me that it was a massage and relaxation spa for ladies only. An inspector had earlier imposed a ban on the spa because it was offering massage for men. I headed to the spa for a new inspection and see whether they had rectified their status to remove the ban. When J.W. told me that she had stopped allowing men into her spa, a European man walked in to the spa and asked for massage. The suspect asked the man to leave in front of me. When I asked her if she was still allowing men to have massage, she admitted that she still did so but less often. When I informed her that I will report what I saw, she offered me Dh2,500 to write a positive report,” the inspector claimed to prosecutors.

Records said the Emirati pretended that he agreed to take the money and he provided her with his number to meet and collect the money later.

The inspector accepted the money, according to prosecution records, as part of a sting operation after which J.W. was arrested.

The businesswoman was cited admitting to prosecutors that she paid the money upon the inspector’s request.

A ruling will be heard next month.