Surveillance video 'refutes hotel Briton's rape claim'

Police dispute the story of a woman who says she was the victim of a sexual assault in Dubai. She and her fiance say the police failed to investigate the claim.

DUBAI // Based in part on closed-circuit television footage, police investigators are disputing the story of a woman who says she was the victim of a sexual assault in The Address hotel on New Year's Eve. SP, 23, a British woman of Pakistani descent who was on holiday in Dubai with her fiance, reported a rape to the police on January 1, but was arrested herself, accused of illegal sex and drinking.

"Our investigations revealed that the woman was not subject to any sexual assault, contrary to what she is claiming," said Major Gen Khamis Mattar al Mazeina, the deputy head of the Dubai Police. SP claimed that she was attacked by a waiter while semi-conscious in a hotel toilet. However, the police say closed-circuit television footage has confirmed that the suspect did not enter the bathroom after her.

"The woman was not assaulted in the bathroom," said Gen al Mazeina. "Medical reports conducted also confirm that she was not assaulted." One of the female hotel staff has said that she was the one who helped SP into the bathroom, police sources said. The alleged attacker has denied the rape charges. Both the woman and her fiance, SC, a 44-year-old Briton of Indian descent, claimed the police did not investigate the rape.