Dubai: A driver denied in court on Sunday the charge of raping a woman jobseeker and contended that she falsely accused him of rape after they argued over her fees.

The 24-year-old Cameroonian woman was present in the flat of the 39-year-old Nigerian driver, C.E., when the latter forced himself on her and raped her under coercion and threat to kill her in September.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of rape under coercion and threat and use of physical violence.

“I did not rape her … we had consensual sex but when we fought over her fees, she claimed to the police that I raped her,” argued C.E. as he entered a not guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the suspect turned aggressive once the woman rejected his sexual advancements and did not want to have sex with him.

Records said the suspect hefted the woman on to his shoulders, moved her into the bedroom, threw her on the bed and raped her under coercion and threat. He also assaulted her.

When asked why she claimed that he had raped her, C.E. told presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi: “When she went to the police to complain, she did not want to inform them that we had argued over her fees.”

The 24-year-old woman claimed to prosecutors that the incident happened after she had met C.E., who had promised to find her a job.

“He saw me carrying my CV at the bus stop and followed me. He stopped and asked me if I was looking for a job. I said yes since I had been in Dubai for three weeks looking for a job. We later met in Al Baraha and he told that his brother might help me get hired in the company where he worked. He said his brother would want to meet me later and ask about my experience. I met him some time later in a metro station … then we walked for a distance while I was under the impression that he was taking me to his brother’s workplace. When we reached the flat, he told me that it was his brother’s residence and that I should hand over my CV to his brother. The brother was cooking when we walked into the flat. He took my CV and claimed that he would be away to hand over my CV to someone on the upper floor. Thereafter the suspect sat beside me and molested me. He asked to have sex with me but I refused. When I tried to leave, he turned aggressive and raped me in the bedroom,” she testified.

A police lieutenant testified to prosecutors that the suspect claimed that he had consensual sex with the woman.

“During questioning, C.E. alleged that during the act of having sex something went wrong and she asked him for more money. He alleged that they had agreed on Dh200 before she demanded Dh500. The woman claimed to the police that she was raped,” he claimed.

A lawyer will be appointed to defend the suspect when the court reconvenes on March 6.