Man charged with impersonating policeman and raping woman

Dubai: A man has been accused of impersonating a policeman, then claiming he wanted to take a woman to hospital to check whether she was a transvestite before raping her in his car.

Prosecutors charged the 31-year-old Emirati man, T.M., of posing as a police lieutenant and kidnapping the woman, driving to Al Ghusais and raping the 29-year-old Filipina.

The woman, E.J., alleged that T.M. showed her a police ID and claimed he wanted to take her to the hospital to undergo a gender test. He later raped her, she alleged. "No, Sir, I am not guilty. I did not impersonate a policeman. I did not kidnap her. I did not rape her," argued the suspect when he defended himself before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

The suspect asked Presiding Judge Jasem Al Beloushi to adjourn the case until he hired a lawyer.

The woman said the man stopped her in the corridor of the building where she lives and asked her to give him a missed call.

"He showed me a police ID then asked me to accompany him to his car. He asked me whether I am a woman or a transvestite… he also asked whether I was a virgin. Then he said I could get arrested for the type of clothes that I was wearing. "He warned me that he could take me to the police station and create trouble for me … then he asked me if I wanted to go to a hospital for a gender check.

"When I told him to drop me and leave me alone, he asked me to jump into the back seat to check. Confused and scared, I moved to the back… then he raped me," E.J. claimed.

The woman's friend confirmed her statement and said she convinced her to report the matter to the police.

The court reconvenes on June 7.