Dubai: An employee lost his appeal and will spend a year in jail for tricking a workmate by saying that he wanted to teach her driving and then raping her in a sandy area.
The 36-year-old Pakistani employee talked his Ukrainian woman co-worker into letting him teach her driving, and then picked a date that fell on a long weekend in July 2016.
On a Friday, the man picked the 32-year-old woman up in his car and drove towards Al Qudra Street in the afternoon. Then he asked her to sit on his lap as he pulled his seat back to teach her driving.
As she refused to sit on his lap, the man continued driving, then swerved into a sandy area where he stopped and raped her.
In April, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the accused for one year for having sex with the Ukrainian woman although he had pleaded not guilty.
The defendant appealed the ruling before the Appeal Court and sought to have a reduced punishment.
The appellant claimed before the court that he had consensual sex with his co-worker.
Presiding judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm dismissed the defendant’s appeal and upheld his one-year jail term.
The defendant will be deported after serving the jail term.
The defendant stepped out of the car, claiming that the vehicle had got stuck in sand and that he wanted to release the tyres.
The woman asked him to call someone for help before the sun set and cautioned him that he would not be able to free the car by himself, said records.
The woman said the incident happened after she accepted the defendant’s offer to teach her driving.
“He drove towards Al Qudra Street. I refused to sit on his lap when he asked me to do so. I asked him to drop me home and told him that I would never sit in a car alone with him. While driving, he suddenly turned into a sandy area and the tyres got stuck. He failed to release the vehicle. He did not call anyone for help … he took off his pants. I repeatedly warned him … but he refused to listen and insisted that he would free the tyres. The area was poorly lit and it was already dark. He sat beside me in the back seat and said he loved me. He forced himself on me and kissed me … I moved my head away. Then he forced himself on me and raped me. Later, he called someone to tow the car out. He dropped me at my friend’s place and she accompanied me to the police station to complain,” she testified.
A police lieutenant testified the accused told him during questioning that he had consensual sex with the woman.
The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 28 days.
