Jail terms upheld for Dubai pimp and his accomplices

Pimp who raped two women has his 15-year jail term upheld by the Appeals Court.

DUBAI // A pimp who raped two women and forced a number of others into prostitution had his 15-year jail term upheld by the Appeals Court today.

DH, 28, from Bangladesh lured vulnerable women to his brothel with promises of better-paid jobs before beating them, raping them and taking pictures of them naked.

The court upheld his jail term as well as the three-year prison sentences given to his three accomplices: FA, 38, an Indonesian madam; MB, 23; and JH, 40, from Bangladesh. It also upheld an order putting all of them under surveillance during their imprisonment and another order for them to be deported upon their release.

The group was caught after one of the prostitutes, an 18-year-old Ethiopian who had run away from her sponsor, stole a mobile phone and called her ex-boss's wife.

Police tracked her call and raided the apartment in Hamdan where the brothel was operating. Officers found condoms, contraceptives, revenue notebooks and money-transfer receipts at the flat, while photographs and other incriminating recordings were found on the mobile phone of one of the pimps.

At the original trial at the Criminal Court, the Ethiopian woman testified that the brothel was run by two Bangladeshi men and an Indonesian madam. She said that one of the Bangladeshis beat her for three days before taking her virginity.

Another prostitute, a 33-year-old Indonesian, told the court she absconded from her sponsor after she was promised Dh1,500 a month by the Bangladeshi.

DH was found guilty on two counts rape, while he, FA and MB were all found guilty of running a brothel. They and JH were also found guilty of human trafficking.