Man cleared of selling maid to work as masseuse

Dubai: Prosecutors lost their appeal in a case involving a jobless man, who was acquitted of selling a maid to another man to work as a masseuse shortly after he helped her abscond from her sponsor.

In November, the Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the 35-year-old Bangladeshi man, A.B., of deceiving his 26-year-old countrywoman and selling her for Dh3,000 to another man to work as a masseuse over uncorroborated evidence.

Prosecutors appealed the primary ruling [innocence] before the Dubai Appeal Court and sought to overturn the acquittal and have A.B. imprisoned.

However the appellate court dismissed the prosecutors’ appeal and confirmed A.B.’s acquittal.

Records said the man had talked the maid into running away from her Emirati sponsor in Ras Al Khaimah before he sold her to work as a masseuse.

The woman had only been working for the sponsor for a few months before the maid met A.B. through her co-worker, according to records.

A.B. was said to have convinced the two maids to run away before he picked them up in June 2014 and brought them to an apartment in Dubai.

The suspect pleaded not guilty and firmly refuted prosecutors’ accusations

When A.B. appeared in court, he denied selling the maid to another person to perform indecent activities in a massage centre.

Citing lack of corroborated evidence, the court cleared A.B. of any wrongdoing on Sunday.

According to the charge sheet, the suspect exploited the maid’s weakness by convincing her that he would get her work as a maid for Dh2,000 before selling her to work as a masseuse.

Records said the Emirati sponsor was paying the woman a Dh600 salary.

“I am not guilty. I did not cheat her or have her work in any dirty job. I tried to help her find a good job,” argued A.B. when he defended himself in court.

His court-appointed lawyer contended before the Appeal Court that his client tried to help the victim and did not sell her or exploit her sexually.

The maid claimed that after A.B. helped her and her co-worker abscond, they stayed in several flats in Sharjah and Dubai. She alleged that they had to move in and out of different flats every few days.

“He helped me work in different housekeeping jobs on an hourly basis. We shared a flat with a number of men and women. The suspect did not bring men to have sex with the women who lived at the flat, but those who lived there slept with each other. However, he forced me to have sex with him over a period of time… I had no choice. He beat me when I refused to have sex with him. Then he took me to a massage place and handed me to the manager. The latter wanted me to wear enticing clothes and massage clients… but I refused,” she claimed.

Meanwhile A.B.’s lawyer asked the appellate court to dismiss the case against his client because the maid’s statement was inconsistent and her claims were unfounded.

The appellate judgement remains subject to appeal within 14 days before the Cassation Court.