DUBAI // Three men and a woman lured a maid into the country, then locked her up and forced her to work in the sex industry, a court was told this morning.
The men, MN, 38; MS, 45; and AA, 41; and the woman, AAS, 27, all Bangladeshis, are charged with human trafficking. The three men separately face charges of rape.
MN and MS are charged with running a brothel, and AAS is charged with prostitution and having consensual sex with MS.
Prosecutors say they all lured, beat up and exploited another Bangladeshi woman.
The woman told prosecutors she was approached in her country about a maid's job in Dubai, and arrived at Dubai International Airport on May 4 on a maid's visa.
She said MN took her from the airport to an apartment in Fareej Al Marar; she added that she moved between that one and another apartment in the same building that belonged to MS.
She said she saw two Bangladeshi women in the second apartment working in prostitution. When MN then told her she would be a prostitute as well, she refused.
She said she was then beaten up and raped. When her attackers left her alone on May 21, she tied a piece of cloth to the window and tried to climb down.
She fell, however, and was rushed to the hospital.
The medical report said her face suffered bruising and swelling.
MM, a police officer, testified that he received a report of a woman falling from an apartment window and went to Rashid Hospital to make a report. At that point, he said, she told him about her ordeal.
MN, MS, AA and AAS all denied the charges. The next hearing will be in November.
salamir@thenational.ae