Five face UAE court for trying to force Pinay into prostitution

Two Indonesians and three Bangladeshis have been charged before a court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for allegedly trying to force a Filipina maid into prostitution.

All five denied the charges even as the 30-year-old Filipina maid testified about her ordeal before the Court of First Instance, Khaleej Times reported Thursday.

Charged before the court were an Indonesian maid, 23; an Indonesian woman, 40; two Bangladeshi men; and a Bangladeshi woman.

Prosecution records showed the Indonesian maid and one of the Bangladeshi men planned to take the Filipina to the Dubai International Airport last Feb. 8.

From there, she was taken to a flat in Freej al Murar in Naif. The flat was run by the Bangladeshi woman, who herself was a prostitute, the Khaleej Times report said.

The report added the Bangladeshi woman has also been charged with running a brothel and working in prostitution.

However, the Filipina managed to escape from them at the airport.

Testimony

In her testimony, the Filipina said she and the Indonesian maid had worked at a house in Khorfakkan.

She said that at about 2:30 a.m. last Feb. 8, her Indonesian colleague woke her and told her to run away with her from their sponsor's house.

“She threatened to kill me with a knife,” the Filipina testified.

The Filipina said she went along because she was scared. During the trip, she learned she would be made to work in prostitution.

But when they arrived at the airport, the Filipina managed to escape by claiming she needed to go to the toilet. She then called her sponsor’s wife and told her she was in Dubai.

The police arrested one of the five defendants from Terminal 2, after receiving a complaint. A subsequent raid on the Bangladeshi woman's flat led to the arrest of the four others.

It was during the raid that police learned the Bangladeshi woman was paying them Dh1,000 for bringing clients. - VVP, GMA News