Three-month jail term for rape attempt on hairdresser

DUBAI // A man was convicted of attempted rape and jailed for three months yesterday after luring a hairdresser to his front door and trying to kiss her, tear off her clothes and drag her into his flat. SA, 27, a site supervisor from Sri Lanka, denied the charges last week at the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance, after telling police under interrogation that he thought the victim was offering "home massage services".

But he was found guilty after his victim, an Iranian woman, 34, told prosecutors that she had been attacked on the threshold of his flat after encountering the man while distributing brochures for her hairdressing salon at apartments in Discovery Gardens on May 11. She told prosecutors that SA had initially asked her to come to his flat as she handed out the flyers. When she arrived, she said that she asked him if there were any women inside.

He replied no, before grabbing her and attempting to pull her inside. "As he was pulling me in and ripping my clothes, I saw a lot of mens shoes by the door, which scared me," she said. She described how she tried to back away but SA pulled her close and tried to kiss her, before she managed to struggle free. @Email:amustafa@thenational.ae