Man lures mentally-ill woman into a hotel room, court hears

dubai — A driver has been charged at a Dubai court for allegedly luring a mentally-ill woman into a hotel room, where he sexually assaulted her.

Prosecutors accused the 32-year-old Pakistani man of taking advantage of the vulnerability of the victim, an Emirati — who suffers from epilepsy — to force himself on her on September 19, 2018. However, he denied sexual assault charges at the Court of First Instance.

The 38-year-old victim said during the public prosecution investigation that she suffered from a mental illness and had been on pills for psychosis and epilepsy. She said that on the day of incident she was not fully aware of her actions as she had stopped taking her medicines. “I had met the defendant on Instagram and he introduced himself as an Emirati man.”

She recounted how he asked to see her on September 19, at a hotel room rather than at a public place, as he pretended he was worried over her reputation.

“He claimed he wanted to see me away from sights and that he wanted to talk to me freely. I was not in my right mind and not conscious when I went to a hotel and booked a room in my name,” the victim said.

She told the investigators that the defendant pulled her to the bed and sexually assaulted her. “I could not keep him away or scream for help. I was scared my parents would return me to the mental institution.”

She later confided to her mother and lodged a complaint at Bur Dubai police station. She told the police how afraid she then felt of the defendant and how she was not aware of what was going on and that she began again hearing scary voices.

She also visited her psychiatrist who prescribed the necessary pills for her.

A medical report, enclosed to the case file, said that the victim first visited the centre in April 2015. She was then diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She suffered from episodes of depression and psychosis and was a frequent patient.

The accused, who is in detention, confessed during the public prosecution investigation and police interrogation he had given a false name and lied to the victim and had lured her several times to meet him.

The court will pronounce a ruling on January 28.