Taxi driver fails to appear at Dubai court for rape charge

A taxi driver is accused of kidnapping a female passenger and taking her to a remote area to rape her.

DUBAI // A taxi driver kidnapped a female passenger and took her to a remote area to rape her, a court has heard.

Pakistani S S, 34, on Tuesday failed to appear at Dubai Criminal Court to enter a plea against the charges of kidnap and issuing threats.

Prosecutors said that on April 2, the driver kidnapped Filipina waitress M A, 24, took her to a deserted area in Nad Al Sheba and threatened to kill her if she did not take her clothes off.

The waitress said she hailed a cab from behind Al Karama Hotel to go home.

“I noticed that the taxi driver was taking a different route, then noticed that he did not have his meter on,” she said.

“I asked him why but he told me to keep quiet.”

She said he started screaming at her every time she asked him about his reasons for taking a different route. When she reached for her mobile phone to a call for help, he told her to turn it off.

“He then picked up an iron bar and threatened to beat me up with it if I called anyone,” she said.

“I got scared and on the way I asked him to buy me water from a petrol station I spotted, thinking that I could run away, but he refused to stop.”

The waitress said he continued driving for about 10 minutes then stopped the car on the hard shoulder of a remote area.

“He asked me to take off my clothes. I refused and, as he was busy picking up a water bottle, I opened the door and ran,” said the waitress.

She reported him to police and shortly after he was arrested. A verdict is expected on October 28.