Dubai: Three college students have been jailed for a year each for gang-raping a prostitute and stealing her belongings after threatening her with a Taser stun gun.
The trio, who are all under the age of 20, were said to have offered the 29-year-old Uzbek woman a lift home from a nightclub in Deira. They drove to a remote area and raped her one at a time after threatening her with a Taser gun.
The Dubai Court of First Instance granted the defendants a lenient judgement due to their young age. They were identified as M.H., a Dane, O.K., an Egyptian and M.S., a Palestinian.
“The accused will be deported following the completion of their punishments. Meanwhile the Taser gun will be confiscated,” said Presiding Judge Ali Attiyah Sa’ad.
Records said the woman identified herself as a visitor. Meanwhile, witnesses identified her as a prostitute.
They were also accused of stealing the woman’s four mobile phones, perfume and Dh3,000 from her purse.
The defendants pleaded innocent when they appeared before the court.
The Uzbek visitor said she went out clubbing with her friend at a hotel in Deira last November.
“The SUV’s driver offered us a ride while my friend and I waited for a taxi. We jumped into the back seat because there were no taxis. The men stole our belongings. They threatened me with a Taser gun. I spotted the SUV heading towards Sharjah. The driver pulled over and dropped off my friend. When I refused to have sex with one of the men, they threatened to harm me with the gun. They raped me one at a time. They dropped me off in the middle of the desert. I complained to the police after two days,” the woman said.
A Nigerian security guard at the hotel testified that he spotted the SUV a number of times circling around the nightclub’s entrance and asking for prostitutes.
Monday’s verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
