Italian man, 33, charged for allegedly trafficking S'porean woman to Dubai for sex work

An Italian man allegedly posed as a member of a rich family in Qatar and trafficked a Singaporean woman he met via Tinder to Dubai for sex work.

The man pretended he was going to marry her in Qatar, but ultimately coerced the woman into doing sex work in Dubai and collected her earnings until she contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Achraf Arjaouy, 31, was charged in court under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act on Aug. 22, according to charge sheets seen by Mothership.

Prosecution's case

The prosecution, comprising deputy public prosecutors David Khoo, David Menon, Tay Jia En and Ariel Tan, laid out the case in court that Arjaouy's intention all along was to recruit the woman for sex work, CNA reported.

Met in March 2021 via Tinder

Arjaouy arrived in Singapore in March 2021 and met the woman on Tinder a month later.

The woman's name is protected by a gag order.

Chinese media Shin Min Daily News reported that the woman was 30 years old at the time.

Arjaouy presented himself as the son of a wealthy Qatari family and a pilot for Qatar Airways, who was looking to tie the knot with someone, the prosecution told the court.

Eventually, after a "whirlwind courtship", Arjaouy dropped the question and ask the woman to marry her in Qatar.

When he did so, he allegedly put forth an ultimatum that the relationship would be over if she refused.

Elated but still in the dark, the woman agreed to the marriage proposal.

Travelled to Qatar via Dubai in April

On Apr. 21, 2021, the pair set off for Qatar via Dubai.

Once in Dubai, the duo stayed in Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates for a few days and subsequently moved to a serviced apartment at Hyatt Regency Creek Heights Residences, CNA wrote.

There, Arjaouy began to reveal his hidden intentions, starting by asking the woman to show she had US$10,000 (S$12,860) in funds before she could enter Qatar.

The Italian reportedly knew she did not have the money.

The prosecution accused Arjaouy of capitalising on the woman's confusion by subjecting her to "physical and psychological torture", committing acts of violence against her, and subjecting her to "humiliating and invasive sexual acts".

The woman was also subjected to degradation and threats of mutilation by Arjaouy, the court heard.

Sex work started in May

In May 2021, Arjaouy allegedly suggested that the woman engage in sex work to raise funds, CNA reported.

Despite being revolted by the idea, the woman gave in on Arjaouy's insistence and with the belief that it was the only way for her and Arjaouy to get married.

Arjaouy then took intimate photos of her, created profiles for her on escort websites, solicited customers and booked hotels.

The Italian would subsequently collect her earnings.

Eventually, he stopped soliciting customers for her and got her to look for customers on her own.

Contracted STD in September

All these only came to a halt in mid-September 2021, when the woman contracted an STD.

According to the prosecutors, the woman confronted Arjaouy about the sex work and STD and Arjaouy did not deny them, CNA reported.

Over WhatsApp, Arjaouy questioned how the woman contracted the disease and insisted it was "impossible to get it with condom".

He also affirmed his commitment to marry the woman when she asked.

Returned to Singapore in November

In April 2021, after the pair's trip to Dubai, the woman's mother went to the police.

She had asked her mother for US$10,000 (S$12,860) shortly after arriving in Dubai.

The woman returned to Singapore in late November 2021.

Arjaouy was arrested in Singapore two years later in November 2023 for an unrelated offence.

Kept in contact until August 2024

According to Shin Min, the two kept in touch even after the woman returned to Singapore, until May 2022.

When Arjaouy came to Singapore in October 2022, the pair got in touch again and kept in contact until March 2023.

They also corresponded between October 2023 and August 2024.

At one point, Arjaouy told the woman he missed her.

Accused took the stand

Arjaouy took the stand on Aug. 22.

His cross-examination by one of his defence lawyers, Samuel Teo, focused a series of messages from the woman.

He was "desperate" for help to pay law firm

In the messages, the woman told Arjaouy that he had caused her a great deal of problems in Dubai and that he made her "sleep with people for money", CNA wrote.

Teo asked Arjaouy what he made of these messages, to which he said he "didn't understand anything".

"I really didn't know what she was doing in Dubai," Arjaouy told the court, as quoted by CNA.

He also asserted that he did not see the woman from May to September 2021.

Teo referred to messages from the woman, such as one where she told Arjaouy that if he loved her, he would not "ask [her] to sleep with others for money".

The woman asked: "When you ask me to sleep with other men, you call this love?"

Arjaouy insisted that he did not understand anything, and said he was "desperate" for her to help make payments to a law firm.

He revealed that the woman gave him a debit card but would block it if he did not answer her calls.

In another message, the woman accused Arjaouy of abandoning her and leaving her in "deep s***" in Dubai.

"I will not forgive you. Whatever you did was sin." the woman wrote.

No interest

The Italian told the court that when they were together in May 2021, he took care of her "out of my heart".

He said he did tell the woman "maybe we can get married one day", but wanted to do so in Qatar because of the tradition and it being a "quiet country".

When asked why he did not clarify with the woman over text, Arjaouy said he "just wanted to get help from her" and "didn't have any interest in what she was talking".

The Italian was asked how he got by in Dubai, to which he said he was given money by another women.

He also said that after coming to Singapore, he met a housewife with two children through Tinder and had sex with her.

The next trial date is set for Aug. 28, according to charge sheets.

If convicted, Arjaouy faces up to 10 years in jail, a fine of up to S$100,000 and six strokes of the cane.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News, Matthias Ang