Dubai: A man and a woman have been sentenced to three years in jail by the Dubai Court of First Instance for luring their countrywoman and forcing her to work as a prostitute.
According to records, the victim was from a poor family, her mother was visually challenged and she was desperately searching for a job. Her friend, who worked in Dubai, promised to help her and offered her a housemaid’s job. The victim agreed to share part of her future salary with her friend who got a visa and an air ticket for the victim to come to Dubai.
“She welcomed me, along with her friend, upon arrival at Dubai Airport. They took me to the Abu Hail area where I saw other girls in the apartment. The girls told me that they worked as prostitutes,” said the victim on record.
‘Paying for the expenses’
However, though she refused to work as a prostitute, her friend threatened to bring a group of men over to the apartment to assault her if she did not work as a prostitute and pay for the expenses of her visa and ticket.
“I said that I could work as a housemaid, but they refused and said that working as a prostitute was the only way in which she could pay them back. They kept telling me that I managed to enter the country because of them,” the victim added.
After three days, the defendant took her to Ras Al Khaimah, but she managed to escape and reported the incident to the nearest police station. A policeman said that the female defendant, who was working as a prostitute, was arrested after police laid a trap. “She denied forcing the victim into prostitution and claimed that she had paid for the victim’s ticket and visa and that the victim had promised to pay her back. She said the second defendant had transferred the victim to Ras Al Khaimah,” said the policeman on record.
Additional sentence
The two defendants were charged with human trafficking. The court sentenced them to three years in jail, to be followed by deportation. Additionally, the female defendant was sentenced to six months in jail for practising prostitution.
The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days.
