DUBAI // Two Chinese nationals were charged yesterday with trafficking two girls, then ages 12 and 16, into the emirate and forcing them into prostitution.
The defendants, ZZ, a 40-year-old female visitor; and MY, a carpenter, 25, denied running a prostitution ring.
Specifically, the pair denied confining the two German girls, who were sisters, and coercing them into having sex for money, court records show.
Records say the defendants, along with a third suspect who is at large, imprisoned the two girls in a flat in the Al Rafaa area, and prostituted them to strangers.
Both suspects are also accused of overstaying their visas in the country, and failing to pay related fees to the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department. Additionally, ZZ is accused of working in prostitution; she admitted to those charges.
Prosecutors said that in 2004, the victims' father met a Chinese woman, LY, in Umm Al Qaiwain. She later became a close friend. He asked her to take his daughters to Dubai to live with her, and she did so, although the exact date was not presented in court documents.
LY, who remains at large, forced the girls into prostitution in 2009, prosecutors said. In 2010, the 12-year-old was sold for Dh100,000 to an Indian man who had previously paid to have sex with her, according to court records.
The older girl was taken to a different apartment, prosecutors said. Both girls were beaten, locked up, and forced into sex, the charges said.
On June 22, 2010, the older girl escaped and fled to Ajman to search for a friend of her mother's, according to records. She told prosecutors she also wanted to find her sister.
So, after discovering the phone number of the man who bought her sister, she called and arranged a meeting in Deira.
But when she arrived, she was kidnapped and imprisoned by ZZ and MY, according to records. The older girl said ZZ was running the ring and working as a prostitute along with two other women, while MY was in charge of securing the apartment and providing customers in return for a monthly salary of Dh2,500.
salamir@thenational.ae
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
