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29 March 2024

Jilted suitor harasses woman for over a year

An Emirati engineer allegedly continued to threaten a Lebanese woman for more than a year to force her to marry him. (Supplied)

Published
By Eman Al Baik

An Emirati engineer allegedly continued to threaten a Lebanese woman for more than a year to force her to marry him, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

AD, 36, is also accused of blackmailing JS, 31, by posting their pictures on Facebook to prevent her from marrying another man.
 
According to the records, JS met AD in February 2013 and, about two months after meeting him, she felt that he was financially exploiting her as each time they went out he made the excuse of forgetting his wallet so she had to pay for him.
 
“At the end of the month, I declared that to him and told him my decision. A couple of days later he called me and told me that he is near my building and that he wants to talk to me about why I refused his marriage proposal,” she told investigators.
 
The woman went down her building and rode in his car. After talking for some time, he headed to his building where he stopped, snatched her mobile and removed the memory card which contained her pictures with him and her friends.
 
He brought her back to her building and called her several times until she answered him on the following day. He apologised to her and sought forgiveness for what he did.
 
“I accepted his apology and resumed the relationship with him. During this period, I asked him to return the memory card. He did that but I later found out that he had copied its contents,” she said.
 
“Around this time, I met his sister who also started communicating with me and assuring me of her brother’s love for me and his interest in marrying me,” said JS.
 
In October, the victim decided to break up and travel to her country to marry another man.
 
The accused became very angry and threatened her via SMS. He followed her and asked her to meet but she refused.
 
In December, she returned to Dubai and knew that the accused had copied pictures from the memory card.
 
Scared of scandal that he had threatened to cause, she decided to resume her relationship with him and out of fear she expressed her willingness to marry him.
 
“But I reconsidered my decision to marry him when I heard him talking to another woman over the phone when we were having dinner together. I accused him of cheating on me and left the restaurant,” she said.
 
He sent an SMS apologising for his behavior and asked for forgiveness, but the woman did not respond to him until one day she saw him waiting for her down her building. He tried to attack her but people down the building prevented him, so she could leave peacefully.
 
He called her several times but she did not answer his calls. Once she answered his call and told him that she does not want to marry him as another man wanted to wed her.
 
“He showed understanding of the situation and asked me to come for dinner. I went with him and all the time he expressed understanding and was very meek. However, half an hour after I returned home at around midnight, I was shocked to see him enter my house. I do not know how he got a key. He beat me up and threatened to kill me and the man if I married anyone other than him,” she said.
 
He kicked her several times, saying: “I will have to go prison because of you.” Before leaving her flat, he took her two mobile phones and copied all numbers saved on them.
 
She grabbed the opportunity, got out of the flat and started screaming. He pulled her by her hair back into the flat. He continued beating her up while asking her to marry him. Being scared of him, she accepted and so he decided that they will get married on the next day.
 
He took her to the court to conclude their marriage bond. As per rules, they should first undergo medical tests.
 
“We could not do the test as I did not have my ID with me. So he asked me to accompany him to a garage to get back his car. While I was driving one of the two cars behind him, I grabbed the opportunity, stopped the car, and ran away back to my flat. I told the security guard in brief about the problem
 
“He later sent me SMS expressing acceptance of me leaving him. Later in the day, I learnt that he had called my relatives in Lebanon, telling them about our relationship. He also called a man who was intending to propose to me and sent him my pictures with him. All this pushed me to report him to the police,” she said.
 
The court will reconvene on May 10.