DUBAI // Two men accused of kidnapping, imprisoning, torturing and raping a 19-year-old in Umm Al Quwain have been referred to Dubai courts to face further charges of consuming alcohol.
Their victim, SN from Afghanistan, ran away from his uncle's shop in Ajman where he lived and worked following a disagreement.
In May, he approached two men in Bur Dubai to ask for work.
"I asked them if they knew anyone looking for a worker and they started making calls but I didn't understand anything they said on the phone because they spoke Arabic," he said. The men claimed they had found a job for him and said he should come with them. On the way, they stopped to buy alcohol.
"They took me to an abandoned villa in Al Rashidiya area where they drank alcohol and asked me to drink, but I refused," said SN.
SN said they then turned on him, tying his hands and feet before taking turns to rape him. When they finished, they beat him up and burnt him with cigarettes.
For almost two weeks, the men kept SN hostage – moving him between the desert and farm houses while keeping up a barrage of assaults.
On the thirteenth day, SN managed to untie himself and run. "I walked for nearly two hours before I saw a street and a number of men near a building. I asked them for water but I was too exhausted to drink it and collapsed," said the victim.
Umm Al Quwain Police were called and the victim was rushed to Al Dhaid hospital. A medical report confirmed he was repeatedly beaten with a bar or a tube, bitten and burnt with cigarettes.
The boy took police to the last farm where he was held where the defendant SK, 25, from Pakistan was arrested. Four more men where later arrested, Pakistanis BA, 48, MB, 58, MA, 33, and F, 28.
BA and MB were charged with failing to report SK, MA and F to authorities for kidnapping, torturing and raping SN.
SK and MA did not appear in Dubai Court of Misdemeanours this week to face the additional charge of consuming alcohol illegally.
The next hearing will be on March 6 to summon the defendants.
salamir@thenational.ae
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
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Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
