Six months' jail for rapists

DUBAI // Two men who kidnapped and raped a 17-year-old student were today sentenced to six months in prison each.

The Dubai Criminal Court also fined HK, a 23-year-old stateless man, and AA, a 19-year-old from Yemen, Dh2,000 each for consuming alcohol.

The student, also from Yemen, was walking back to his home in Al Qusais after visiting a friend when the two men assaulted him, shoved him into the boot of a Honda Civic and drove him to AA's house.

The men then forced the student to drink alcohol in a second-floor bedroom after which he lost consciousness for about three hours. When he woke, he was naked.

The two men then raped the student, assisted by HK's brother.

After the attack the student managed to escape from the window of the toilet and ran naked all the way home where his father called police.

When HK was arrested police found a video recording of the attack on his mobile phone. "He confessed but said he was drunk," a police officer, 23, told the court.

The 24-second clip showed the naked student being punched on the chest and slapped on the face but the assailant was not shown as he was holding the camera.

A forensics report found that bruisings and other marks on the student's body were consistent with his story.

salamir@thenational.ae

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Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.