Bus driver immured for offending passenger

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A bus driver who offended a female passenger then vowed to commit suicide if she notified the police has lost the battle against three-year imprisonment.

The Asian defendant, 27, molested the Tajik saleswoman, 24, under a tree in a sandy area in Jafiliya on April 1 after threatening to kill her or summon other men to gangrape her in case she resisted his advances.

He ordered her to go to the bus’s rear seats then asked to be with her. She refused to comply. He slapped her in the face, choked her and issued death threats. He denied the charges at the Dubai Criminal Court.

The court found him guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison to be followed by deportation. He insisted he was innocent and sought to challenge the ruling. However, the Appeals Court upheld it.

The saleswoman complained that she walked out a mall after finishing work at around 3pm. She went to the mall’s bus stop, entered a bus driven by the defendant and told him she was going to a hotel in Deira.

He instead set off towards a residential area in Jafiliya as she was using her mobile not noticing he changed his course. He drove to the sandy area and pulled over under a tree. He started praising her beauty.

He expressed he wanted her. She asked him whether he would like the same to happen to any of his sisters. “Shut up,” he yelled. She shouted for help. He gagged her and threatened to call his friends to rape her.

He slapped her face and choked her with his hand. She shouted. He slapped her and threatened to kill her in case she declined to keep quiet. He wanted to sexually assault her but he realised she had an issue.

He molested her after which he begged her not to tell the police about it because that would mark the end of his life. He said he would commit suicide. She reassured him she would not. He dropped her at a street

She took a taxi home. Her aunt contacted the police. Three corporals testified that during interrogations he told them he parked under a big tree and attacked her. She begged him not to, but he was unwavering.

A police lieutenant added that he explained to him how she cried and pleaded with him to let go of her. She also explained to him how she was a devout Muslim but went on with his motive. He also confessed before prosecutors.

A forensic department report showed his DNA traces were detected.