Abu Dhabi man accused of raping woman claims ‘she held a grudge against him’

ABU DHABI // A man accused of attempting to rape a woman he met at a car wash has told a court that she had accused him of the crime because of a grudge she held for him.

N I, an Emirati, 43, is accused of posing as a taxi driver to drive the woman to her destination, when he then took her to a remote area and tried to rape her.

N I denied the charge.

“The woman accused me out of a grudge, because two days earlier there was a dispute between me and her,” the defendant said.

He explained to the court that while he was waiting for his turn at the car wash, the woman was with her friend and she was laughing and making “attractive, inappropriate moves”.

“She scolded me for staring at her,” he said.

He said he was only provoked to yell back at her when she called him a racist name and he was deeply insulted.

“Then I started fighting back and I said made many strong comments like ‘I could buy you and sell you’ and so on.”

The court asked if there were any physical attacks, but he said it was all verbal.

“And many people gathered around us. Then I left and to my surprise police called me two days later.”

Chief justice Idris Bin Mansour challenged that scratches and bruises were found on his body, which could be interpreted as signs of the victim’s resistance.

“There is only one scratch and it is from my gardening and bird raising activities,” said N I. “If it were her, you would see scratches all over my body and waist, not just one scratch.”

The court also reminded him that he had past convictions for crimes in 2006.

“Yes that was true back then and I served my sentence, but now it did not happen,” he said.

He said back then he was sentenced to a total of nine years in prison for assault, financial cases and drug consumption.

“I request that CID bring the camera footage from the scene to prove my innocence.

“But the footage attached to the case file showed that the woman did ride with you,” argued Chief Justice Bin Mansour.

N I insisted there was no way the victim would have been in the car with him.

He also presented a number of requests to seek fingerprints from the car, DNA samples from the victim’s nails and his clothes, and to compare the “wrong” description the woman gave of his clothes that day.

“These things will prove my innocence,” he stressed.

N I is also charged with consuming medical drugs illegally and alcohol.

“I took amphetamine only ... I do drink alcohol but during the incident I was not.

“The bottles the police found were in my fridge in my house. I have to drink two or three bottles of beer every night to be able to sleep,” he added.

He said he has been receiving treatment in a number of public hospitals and clinics and could easily provide a medical prescription.

The case was adjourned.