Pinay faces UAE court for 'forcing' compatriots into prostitution

A Filipina hairdresser faced a court in Dubai last Thursday for allegedly forcing two women into prostitution after luring them to the United Arab Emirates.

The 33-year-old Filipina was accused of human trafficking before the Court of First Instance, news site Khaleej Times reported Friday.

One of the victims, a 25-year-old Filipina, told prosecutors the woman offered her a job as a saleslady in a supermarket in Dubai and demanded Dh6,000 (P71,132) as visa fee, flight ticket charge and housing cost.

When the complainant could not pay the amount, the defendant allegedly agreed to shoulder the cost but on the condition that the complainant would pay it back.

Last April 23, the defendant and a Filipino man met the complainant at the Dubai International Airport and took her to the defendant’s apartment in Muraqqabat.

“There, she told me that I should pay her Dh20,000 (P237,108) as flight ticket charge, visa fee and rent for staying with her," the complainant said.

When she told the defendant that she did not have any money, the defendant told her that she had to work as a prostitute to repay the money.

The complainant refused and asked her to send her back to the Philippines.

“She forcibly took my passport and said she would not return it unless I paid her Dh20,000," the complainant claimed.

The defendant allegedly told her that there was no use in calling the police because she had many friends in the Criminal Investigation Department.

In the apartment, the complainant saw a follow Filipino woman who told her that the defendant had done the same to her.

The defendant used to call the customers, then drop the two women at an apartment or hotel and wait for the “clients."

None of the two victims could run away as the defendant would not leave them alone and she would always lock them up. The complainant worked in the flesh trade for two weeks while the other woman about one month.

On May 7, they were at an apartment of an Egyptian customer in Al Nahda in Sharjah. When he fell asleep, they escaped and took a cab to her aunt’s place in Sharjah after calling her.

The complainant could not call her aunt earlier because that was the first time the defendant gave her a mobile phone.

The two victims and the aunt went to the Police Department where they lodged a complaint against the defendant on May 9. The defendant was arrested the same day.

Her house was searched and different currencies were found. She first denied forcing the two women into prostitution or seizing their passports. She alleged the two requested to stay with her until they found a job. — LBG, GMANews.TV

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