Police help man travel home to see sick dad
Police and residency department reduce fine for overstaying to let him visit father
APakistani man rendered jobless after the death of his sponsor says he is grateful to Sharjah Police for helping him travel to his home country to see his sick elderly father despite his illegal status in the UAE.
Sharjah Police, in cooperation with the Sharjah Foreign Affairs and Residency Department, helped Muneeb Ullah, 33, in accordance with the UAE law and reduced his fine from Dh18,000 to Dh2,000.
In July 2016, Ullah’s life turned upside down when he became jobless and his visa expired. He violated UAE residency law for a year and a half as he could not find a job and accumulated a fine for overstaying that reached Dh18,000,
He also had to deal with two cases of bad cheques — one of them has been settled while the other remains unsolved.
One day, Ullah received a call from his family in Pakistan to inform him that his 93-yearold father was admitted in the ICU of a hospital and his health was worsening.
At that time, Ullah decided to approach Buhairah police station and inform officers about his ordeal.
Ullah, a father of two children, told Gulf News that there is no word to thank Sharjah Police and Sharjah Foreign Affairs and Residency Department for their kindness and generosity.
“They (police) kept my wife’s passport with them until I came back from Pakistan,” he said. “I travelled to Pakistan and spent 18 days with my sick father.”
Ullah and his Filipina wife fell into trouble in 2016 and were fined Dh50,000 for hiring a Filipina nanny who was later found to be an illegal resident.
“I was jobless and did not have this big amount and my wife did not have a job.”
Eventually, his wife secured work. They borrowed money to pay the fine and life has gradually returned to normal.