DUBAI // A man who tried to rape a woman but met his match when she turned out to be a martial arts specialist, has been jailed for three years.

The woman he tried to sexually assault was a brown belt in karate, who repeatedly punched him until he fled, the court was told.

Dubai Criminal Court heard that she also threw sand in his eyes and hit him on the head with her shoe.

The woman was at the Regal Plaza hotel in Al Raffa on November 21 last year for a friend’s birthday party when she was approached by the 22-year-old Pakistani driver after he overheard her talking to friends about her wish to go to a flower shop.

“He offered to give me a lift. He spoke to me in broken Russian,” said the woman, whose age was not mentioned.

When she got in his car, he drove for half an hour to a deserted area in International City, where he stopped the car and locked the doors.

He pounced on the woman, slapping and punching her in the face and kicking her body.

She fought back by hitting him on the head with her shoe and continued to struggle as he tried to kiss her and touch her thighs.

He then stepped out of the car and told her she could leave, but then he threw her to the ground and tried to restrain and rape her. The woman threw sand in the man’s face and started punching him repeatedly.

He then let go of her, jumped in his car and sped off. Her purse, containing Dh1,050 in cash, her passport and mobile phone were still in the car.

She reported the incident to police and, three days later, the driver was arrested after police identified him from security camera footage.

“He told me that they agreed to have sex for Dh500 but had a fight about where to do it,” said an Emirati police lieutenant.

He denied charges of kidnap, attempted rape, physical assault and theft.

salamir@thenational.ae