Beggars caught asking for petrol, medicine
dubai — Beggars caught by the Dubai Police’s anti-begging campaign this year thought up creative reasons to carry out the practice and con people of money.
In one bizarre case, a ‘beggar’ was found driving a car and begging people for money to pay for his petrol, so he could return to his GCC country. Accompanied by a woman passenger, he successfully collected money at many locations, said Colonel Ali Salem, director of the Department of Combating Infiltrators at Dubai Police’s CID.
Col Salem also stated the case of a whole family of five — a couple and their three children — caught begging near a medical facility. Also nearby were two Arab sisters carrying a two-year-old, claiming the child had a disease and needed medicines worth Dh800. However, when some passersby purchased the actual medicine and gave it to them, they returned it to the pharmacy in exchange for the cash!
There were also genuine cases. A Pakistani man, who arrived from Madinah in Saudi Arabia, was asking for help near a gas station saying he had lost his wallet, and the police checked out his case and helped him out.
Begging in Ramadan
The anti-begging campaign launched by the Dubai Police on April 29 this year resulted in 237 beggars being arrested so far, 112 of them during Ramadan.
Out of the 237 arrested, 83 were women. Arrested beggars will be deported and in some cases, action will be taken against tour companies who brought them to the UAE on visit visas. These will be fined between Dh10,000 to Dh20,000, issued a warning or even have their licences suspended.
But overall, the practice of begging has seen a decline, with the Dubai Police receiving 1,400 complaint calls on beggars 2 years ago, but only 500 calls this year.
Brigadier Abdul Rahman Saeed Obaidullah, director of the Naif police station, announced this at a Press conference. Colonel Ali Salem, director of the Department of Combating Infiltrators and Colonel Jumaa Al Shamsi, head of Public Relations at the General Department of Criminal Investigation, were present.
Most of the beggars were arrested in the area under Naif jurisdiction, which is popular for commercial and logistic activities. A total of 67were arrested in Naif, with 42 of them women.
A special policewomen team is monitoring female beggars in public places, especially in shopping and tourist areas.
The official also said that Qusais and Barsha had the least incidence of beggars, as these are largely residential areas.
Most of the beggars caught also had a past record of theft, harrassment or other crimes. Col Salem said that most of the beggars arrested acted individually and were not part of any organised gang.
The majority of them are of Asian nationalities and enter to the UAE on visit visas, claiming they are here for business purposes.
The police are posting anti-begging and awareness posters near mosques and the charity societies putting up tents and providing food to the needy and underprivileged, to prevent them from taking up begging. Members of the public who come across such cases can inform the police on 901.