UAE | Crime
Dancer who suffocated agreed to be locked in flat
An Indian manager and a female employee have been acquitted of unlawfully keeping a Pakistani dancer against her will in a Bur Dubai flat.
- By Bassam Zaza, Senior Reporter
- Published: 10:51 February 20, 2008
Dubai: A club manager and a dancer have been cleared of illegally detaining a Pakistani dancer in a flat where she suffocated to death in a fire.
The Dubai Court of First Instance's verdict sheet said the deceased, Aaina Malek, who suffocated after inhaling carbon monoxide, agreed to be locked in the flat.
Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir acquitted the 40-year-old Indian manager, D.K., and his 22-year-old compatriot dancer, P.S., of locking the victim in the Bur Dubai flat.
The court also discharged the duo from responsibility for Aaina's accidental death, as charged by the Public Prosecution. They have been referred to the Court of Misdemeanour, where they will tried for the accidental death charge.
The court decided that the crime of illegal detention did not occur "because the victim, like other dancers, agreed to be kept behind closed doors".
A security guard testified before the court that a key was kept inside the flat where the fire broke out for the dancers to exit, especially in emergencies. However, two other girls living there, including a dancer, testified that the dancers did not have a spare key inside the flat.
A 22-year-old Nepalese female dancer, J.C., is being tried before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanour for accidentally causing the fire after she reportedly lit an oil lamp to perform a ritual. J.C. left the lamp lit and headed to work before the flat caught fire and caused Aaina's death.
The security guard told Presiding Judge Mounir earlier that the flat is usually locked from outside for the dancers' safety against intruders but they do keep a spare key inside for emergencies.
He claimed that heavy smoke and an electric short circuit must have prevented the victim from reaching the door.
Meanwhile the two other girls said that had there been a key inside the flat, nothing would have happened.
The suspects denied the charges and pleaded innocent.
A Pakistani dancer, T.N., testified: "P.S. locked the door from outside before going to work. Aaina and I stayed inside the flat. Suddenly the smell of smoke started coming out from one of the bedrooms.
"I opened the door to check what was happening and smoke filled the flat. Then somebody broke down the door and took me out of the flat. None of the girls are allowed to leave the flat without the management's permission."
A Bangladeshi watchman testified: "We took out one girl and I couldn't see inside the flat which was covered with smoke. The rescuers also pulled out a second girl who was unconscious."
The initial verdict is still subject to appeal.
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