Rape suspect arrested five months after attack

DUBAI // A man has been arrested on suspicion of raping a Japanese tourist five months ago.

The breakthrough in the case came after police received a tip-off about a man who had sold a black four-wheeler that matched the description of the vehicle used in the attack.

Police arrested the man and said they were able to match his DNA with some collected from the woman.

The 25-year-old tourist had taken public transportation from Dubai to Hatta during a visit to the country in mid-March.

She arrived in the town about 1.30pm and began asking for directions to the heritage village.

"The suspect, driving a black four-wheeler, offered to take her there and she agreed as she thought he was honest," said Col Salem Al Rumaithi, the deputy general director of investigations.

The woman said the man took her to an abandoned valley and asked her to have sex with him. She told police when she refused he raped her.

The man returned the woman to a nearby road and MF made her way back to the bus station and sought help from police.

"The woman was in a state of shock," Col Al Rumaithi said.

The victim was taken for forensic testing and provided details of the rapist the following day, police said.

"We wanted to document everything as the woman was leaving in two days. But unfortunately, she did not give many details, which made our search difficult," said Lt Col Ahmed Al Merri, the head of CID.

An investigation team started searching for the suspect. They first looked among men with a criminal record but expanded the search after finding nothing.

On August 28, police were informed a man who matched the description of the attacker had sold a black four-wheeler about the same time as the assault.

"The fact that he sold his car got us suspicious of him, and we put him under surveillance," Lt Col Al Merri said.

SA, a resident of Hatta from an unidentified Gulf country, was arrested on August 30. He has been referred to public prosecution.

"The suspect has denied the crime but we have called in the victim, and she is expected to come back to the country soon to identify him," Lt Col Al Merri said.

wissa@thenational.ae