Two women gangraped by online friends

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

Two Filipinas were repeatedly sexually assaulted by two men they met on a social networking site, a jury heard on Tuesday.

Both Arab barbers – the defendant, 35, and his colleague, 37 – forcibly molested and assaulted an unemployed Filipina victim, 29, and her friend, 36, after luring them to a ghost party inside their apartment. On the record, the victim narrated that she got into contact with the defendant’s colleague on Skout social network three months ago. They exchanged phone numbers and started contacting each other.

At around 4am on June 19 he contacted asking where she was. She told him she was with her friend at Jumeirah Beach. He offered to transport them back to their residence in Al Rigga area. She accepted. He arrived in a car accompanied by the defendant in the passenger seat. Both women took the rear seat. On the way, both men claimed they had a party at their apartment and that they would not take long there.

They promised to return both women to their residence immediately after the party ended. They diverted to another road and stopped at a building. “We went with them to their apartment on the second floor.

“We were astonished to realise there was no other person,” she said, adding that the defendant’s colleague immediately seized her by the arm and dragged her to the bedroom where he abused her repeatedly. She ran to the salon where she found the defendant encroaching on her friend. The defendant then dragged her friend to the bedroom. He abused her and walked out. The colleague entered and abused her too.

The defendant asked to sleep with the victim but she refused and demanded to leave with her friend. Both men refused. “We insisted on getting out. They let go of us. Upon getting out we contacted the police.”

The victim said she had tried to resist but the colleague grabbed her neck and restrained her. When she shouted he grabbed her mouth. She sustained contusions on her mouth and pain in the neck and nose among other parts.

She added that before getting out of the apartment the defendant offered to give them hush money but they refused it. “We identified them during an identity parade,” she explained.

Her friend complained that the defendant molested her while in the salon and abused her. He dragged her to the bedroom and abused her again.  Thereafter, his colleague entered and abused her twice. “I was scared and upset,” she said. “I tried to resist. He forcibly held me and abused me. He offered to give me Dhs500 to buy my silence. I refused to take it. We went out and contacted police.” Case continues.