Dubai: A visitor claimed in court on Monday that he was subjected to electric shock by police to make him confess that he kidnapped and raped an 8-year-old schoolgirl as she clutched the Quran in fear.
"I carry signs of electric shock on my back… the police [allegedly] electrocuted me and forced me to confess that I kidnapped the girl and raped her. Your honour, you can see the signs on my back. I am innocent and I didn't commit any crime. The girl is the one who asked me to give her a lift," argued the 21-year-old Pakistani visitor in his defence before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
Prosecutors charged the defendant, M.R., with raping the Bangladeshi schoolgirl, N.K., after kidnapping her in a deceptive manner.
According to the charge sheet, M.R. is accused of luring the girl into his car while she waited with her friends in front of a Quran learning centre. The suspect deceived the girl to join him after promising to pay her Dh10 and claiming that he wanted to buy juice to distribute to the rest of the pupils.
The Public Prosecution charged him with raping the girl as she cried and clutched the Quran in fear. He was also charged with threatening to kill her and chop her body to pieces if she cried and did not comply with his demands.
In the courtroom, the suspect pleaded not guilty to the charges which were levelled against him by Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad.
"My friends and I were waiting in front of the centre… he stopped in front of us and offered to buy us juice. He drove off, then stopped in a building's parking lot and moved back to the rear seat where I was... He beat and threatened me and then abused me after he undressed me… I cried and begged him to leave me," alleged N.K. who later informed her parents.
Records said M.R. allegedly dropped her in front of the centre and she walked home. Her friends had informed her father and he and the police were searching for her, according to the records. Two policemen testified that primary interrogations led to the arrest of M.R., who N.K. identified in the police lineup.
"I cannot afford to hire a lawyer," the suspect told Presiding Judge Abdul Jawad who adjourned the case to assign a lawyer and hear two prosecution witnesses in February 8.
