Duo jailed for assaulting man at massage centre

DUBAI — Two Vietnamese expats were sentenced to one year in jail and fined Dh100,000 each for running a prostitution den.

The Court of First Instance convicted the men, including a 18-year-old unemployed man and an investor, 39, of running a prostitution den and of an aggravated assault charge. They assaulted an Algerian man and caused him severe head injury.

The victim was left with a swollen head and other serious injuries after being punched repeatedly and beaten with a steel tube.

Two Vietnamese women, aged 33 and 35, have each received a three-month imprisonment for working in prostitution. The court cleared them of assault charges.

All the four accused will be deported after serving their jail term.

Court documents show that on September 10 last year, the victim went to a massage centre. A brawl shortly ensued as he was offered sex. He tried to take back the Dh400 he had paid upon his arrival. But he ended up being beaten up after he threatened to call the police. The incident was reported at the Al Rafaa police station. The two women and the 18-year-old accused are detained. The complainant, a 45-year-old manager, said that around 5.30pm, he went to a parlour for massage. “At the entrance, I was made to pay Dh400. When I entered a room, I took off my clothes and was looking for a towel but a masseuse there told me it was ok to stay as I was.”

The complainant recounted how he argued with that woman when she changed into scanty clothes. “As she began talking about sex, I told her I went there just for massage. I stood up, opened the door and called for the receptionist. I told him to give me back my money as I did not want what they were offering.”

As he threatened them to call the police and was about to use his mobile phone, a man slapped him on the chest. “Another man hit me on my back. All the defendants then surrounded me, punching me and hitting me with a steel rod on my face,” the victim recalled.

He was bleeding profusely when he was kicked outside. “It was just a flat. A passer-by called the police and ambulance,” he told the prosecutor. According to a forensic report, the head injury sustained by the victim was permanent. He was also bruised in the right eye. The court ruling has been appealed.