Court reduces jail terms in exploitation case

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

Four Asian countrymen who hired an underprivileged girl inside a brothel have won reduced jail terms after convincing a jury the girl worked upon her consent.

The electrician (brothel owner, 29), his cousin (brothel treasurer, 21), an illegal resident (brothel manager, 32) and a labourer (its client, 24) first appeared on trial on at the Criminal Court on Apr.12.2018 Prosecutors said the electrician, cousin and manager with the help of an ex-fugitive countrywoman exploited the Pakistani girl, 17, inside an apartment in Al Baraha until police intervened on Jan.14 that year.

They also teamed up to run the apartment as a brothel and welcomed in an Asian woman, 33, who resorted to streetwalking after her relentless visits to the UAE to search for a decent job proved fruitless.

The labourer paid Dhs100 to the brothel manager and had an affair with the girl upon her consent. The girl told prosecutors she worked voluntarily. “I had my passport and mobile. I was in daily contact with my parents abroad.”  

The court jailed the electrician, cousin, manager and countrywoman for three years plus deportation and a Dhs100, 000 fine each. It cleared the quartet of human trafficking. It imprisoned the labourer for six months over the affair.

The court also ordered the apartment be locked. The electrician, cousin, manager and countrywoman appealed the ruling seeking leniency. The Dubai Appeals Court has commuted the prison term to six months.

On the record, the poverty-stricken girl joined the flesh trade while still in her homeland. The countrywoman in question summoned her to work in Dubai. The girl deceived her mother she would work at a shop.  The electrician processed her travel documents. The countrywoman received her and took her to the brothel. The countrywoman told her to share 50 per cent of her proceeds with her and leave the rest to the electrician.  

An Emirati lieutenant narrated that the Anti-Human Trafficking Department heard about a minor being exploited. A cop posed as a client with Dhs100 in quest for a girl. The brothel manager opened for him.

The manager received the sum from him, pocketed it and pointed him to a room where the girl was. Police stormed and made arrests. The electrician confessed to have been sharing proceeds with the manager.

On his part, the manager admitted to have been pocketing Dhs1,200 daily.