Dubai: The trial of a hotel receptionist who hired a maid and forced her into prostitution until she became HIV positive and died in hospital, started yesterday.

The Dubai Public Prosecution charged the 36-year-old Bangladeshi suspect, identified as M.Q., with forcing the 31-year-old Nepalese victim, B.M., into the sex industry and threatening to harm her if she did not sleep with customers. She then got infected with AIDS and died. He used to keep the customers' money.

During yesterday's hearing, the suspect denied the accusations and told the Dubai Court of First Instance that he is innocent.

A few days before she died, the victim told the police that the suspect received her at Dubai International Airport when she came to work as a maid. He housed her in a flat in Al Hamriyya area and used to drive her to hotel rooms and villas where she used to reportedly sleep with customers. In her statement to the police, she said she worked as a prostitute "against her will and under his continuous threats to abuse her".

In his statement to the public prosecution, a 31-year-old Nepalese witness, J.R., said once the victim called and asked him for help because she did not have a passport or residence permit. He said she was crying, tired and in a bad condition when he met her.

The victim told J.R. that the suspect was abusing her and forced her into prostitution and she had to frequently have sex with the customers and "he used to keep the money for himself".

The witness said he asked the suspect why was he doing that to her, but the suspect replied, "do not interfere in this because she is my woman and I am responsible for her". He said the suspect did not allow him to meet the victim until a week prior to her death when he was informed that she was admitted to hospital because she was HIV positive.

Medical reports said the victim suffered general body weakness, headache, nausea, anorexia, sore throat and weight loss. She underwent radiological investigations including CT scan brain which was normal and was found to be HIV positive before she died in March.