One-year jail sentence for man who broke into woman’s bedroom, Dubai court rules

The Dubai Criminal Court convicted P J, 28, from Sierra Leone, of armed robbery, sexual assault and trespassing, all of which he denied in court last month.

DUBAI // A man who broke into a woman’s apartment before threatening her with a knife and forcing her to strip naked has been sentenced to a year in prison.

P J, 28, from Sierra Leone, was convicted of armed robbery, sexual assault and trespassing by Dubai Criminal Court. He denied the charges.

“I don’t know about any of these accusations and, no sir, I did not do them,” said P J in an earlier hearing.

P J forced open the bedroom balcony door at 25-year-old Filipino D L P’s Al Baraha apartment at around 2am on December 18 2014, the court was told.

The victim woke up and found P J standing in front of her. “I was terrified and started screaming,” said D L P.

P J then gagged the woman, threatened to kill her with a knife and demanded she hand over all of her money.

D L P gave him her purse containing Dh400 and a necklace she was wearing.

“After that he told me he would kill me if I did not take off my clothes,” said D L P, adding that P J looked at her naked body for some time then told her to turn and face the wall. He then proceeded to search her apartment for more valuables.

“At which point I ran out of the room naked and took shelter in another bedroom where my flat mates where sleeping and locked the door,” said D L P, who then called police.

P J was arrested a few months later. He confessed to all charges during interrogations, though he denied them in court.

He will be deported after completing his jail term.