Barber jailed for bid to assault woman

Hamza M Sengendo, Staff Reporter

A man who snatched a ‘beautiful’ woman from in front of a lift and dragged her towards a stairway has been sent to spend three years behind bars.

The Asian defendant –a barber, 23- upon knowing the time the Filipina saleswoman, 27, returned home lurked in wait near the building’s lift on Dec.30 last year, according to records at the Bur Dubai Police Station.

As soon as she arrived to call the lift, he clutched her by the leg and dragged her with an aim to disappear with her inside the stairway and abuse her there. However, she resisted, kicked him and shouted for help.

He fled the scene. Prosecutors sued him on July 9 following his arrest and charged him with attempted sexual assault. The Criminal Court has found him guilty and awarded him three years in jail plus deportation.

On the record, the saleswoman said she arrived downstairs the building in Al Satwa area at around 2am, returning from work. “I was waiting for the lift when the defendant showed up from the stairway,” she said.

The defendant grasped her arm and tried to drag her inside the stairway but she resisted and pulled him. She was pulling herself from his grip when she slumped on the ground in front of the lift. He clutched her leg.

“He dragged me by the leg towards the stairway’s door,” she said, adding that she screamed for help prompting him to dash out of the building.

“He would have raped me had I not resisted and screamed calling for help.” 

An Emirati sergeant said, “Surveillance footage captured the defendant approaching the victim, trying to talk to her. He dragged her and beat her as he tried to shove her inside the stairway. She resisted. He ran away.

“An informer disclosed his identity. We discovered he fled outside the country. Circulars were issued.

“He was arrested upon return. During interrogations, he admitted to the abuse bid and revealed he admired her.”