Dubai, October 26: Two men – a salesman and a driver – went on trial on Sunday in the Court of First Instance on charges of kidnapping, illegal confinement, rape and attempted human trafficking.
The two Bangladeshis and in their thirties, allegedly kidnapped two Filipino housemaids on April 5 as they were walking down a street in Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi. They drove them to an apartment in the Naif area in Dubai where they confined them for a couple of days. They later allegedly raped them and tried to force the women into prostitution.
One of the complainants told the prosecutors that on the day of the kidnapping, she was walking with the other complainant and an Indonesian woman.
“As we were wandering in Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi around 10am that day, a car stopped by us and three men stepped out,” she stated.
The complainant alleged that she and the other Filipina were dragged into the car and warned not to look out of the windows or even talk.
“The first defendant told us he would make us work in a hospital or in a shopping store,” the complainant told the police.
At the end of the journey, the two men took the women to a house.
“I saw three Indonesian women inside a room. The first defendant locked the door from the outside after taking my phone SIM card,” she alleged.
Two days after being locked inside the room, the two Bangladeshis tried to rape her but she managed to keep them away by wielding a kitchen knife she found in the room.
“The second defendant tried to have sex with me against my will and when I refused he grabbed my neck and tried to strangle me. I could push him away,” the complainant alleged.
Later, she used the mobile phone of an Indonesian woman to seek the help of her sister in Saudi Arabia. The latter called the police.
By the time the Criminal Investigation Department officers could track and reach the apartment in which the complainants were confined, the defendants moved them to another building in the same locality.
She told the police that one of the Indonesian women, who was in the room, told her that they worked as prostitutes for the first defendant.
The second complainant confirmed her compatriot’s testimony.
“In the house we were taken to in Dubai, I saw men having sex with two Indonesian women in one of the rooms,” she said.
The second complainant claimed that the first defendant raped her after threatening to kill her.
“Two days later, he came back and raped me after his accomplice stopped me from moving,” the Filipina told the prosecutors.
She also alleged that the other defendant, too, had sex with her against her will.
After receiving the call from the complainant’s sister, the police called the complainant, who gave them some indications of the surroundings where they were confined.
About 3.30am on April 9 the police raided the apartment in Freej Al Murar.
“The defendants tried to run away, but could not. The two plaintiffs were there along with other Indonesian women,” a police lieutenant said.
–Agencies