(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) A man was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday by the Court of First Instance for rape attempt on a woman workmate in the desert after kidnapping her following a dinner out together. The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days at the Court of Appeal.
The 37-year-old Emirati, a deputy manager, was found guilty of kidnapping, assaulting and trying to rape the woman, a Spanish sales coordinator, in a desert location.
He could not rape her as she managed to escape from him naked and stopped a truck driver for help at a late night hour.
The complainant, a 25-year-old, told the prosecutor that she had dinner with the defendant who was her co-worker and friend that night in December last year at a restaurant in the Gardens. He was taking her home in his 4WD car when he suddenly changed way towards a desert location. He snatched her mobile phone and stepped off his seat towards her. He lied on top of her and slapped her many times on her face as she resisted him. He undressed her and kept trying to rape her but she managed to escape from him and ran naked towards the street. She stopped a Pakistani truck driver who let her use his mobile phone and gave her clothes to cover herself. She called her friend to pick her up.
The complainant's girlfriend, a Russian sales coordinator, said that her friend called her up after 2am that night. She was crying and said that she lost her purse and personal stuff.
She picked her up in a cab and found her in a mess. She was bleeding with bare feet and was wearing strange clothes. They filed a police complaint at the Jebel Ali police station.
The truck driver, 36, confirmed having seen the woman totally naked on the road that night near the Fruits and Vegetables Market on Emirates Road. He noticed that the woman had blood on her head. He stopped for her as she ran towards the truck crying and gave her some of his clothes to cover herself with.
He also let her use his mobile phone to call her friend and dropped her at a nearby spot.
The medical report showed that the woman had scratches and bruises on her body as a result of the assault.
