DUBAI’S MASSAGE CARD MERCHANTS TO FACE DEPORTATION UNDER NEW LAWS
▶ Tired of intrusive trade on their doorsteps, residents support plans that will also include Dh10,000 fines
Dubai residents have backed a plan to heavily fine and deport those who leave cards advertising massage parlours at the doors of homes, exposing children to lurid images of women.
Dubai Municipality is in talks with other authorities about fines of up to Dh10,000 and immediate deportation for those caught putting the illegal advertisements on the doors of flats and villas.
The move would also include flyers for businesses such as cleaning services. The current penalty is Dh500.
Card distributors have long been common, littering car windscreens particularly in Barsha Heights, Barsha 1 and Discovery Gardens, and police and immigration officials have for years sought to tackle the problem.
But residents have started reporting that they have found the adverts tucked into front door frames.
Baljeet Kumar, an Indian resident of Discovery Gardens, said he did not want his children to see the cards.
“There are security guards in our building, but still distributors find ways to place these adverts in front of my home,” Mr Kumar said.
“Sometimes my six-year-old child picks these cards up and gives them to my wife, saying that someone has dropped a card in front of our home. He doesn’t focus on what’s being advertised on these cards but it’s unacceptable.”
Mr Kumar, a sales manager, said the cards had been a nuisance for the six years he has lived in Dubai.
Massage parlour cards have long been associated with the sex trade and there have been many cases taken to court, some involving violence.
One this month involved a 25-year-old Nigerian who hit a police officer with a rock as he resisted arrest for placing the cards on car windows.
He was jailed for six months and will be deported after serving his sentence.
In another case, in April, an illegal immigrant who was plastering car windscreens with massage parlour cards slashed a law enforcement officer with a knife when he was challenged.
The Bangladeshi man, 27, who was distributing cards in Al Nahda, attacked the immigration official with a penknife. He has been jailed for three months.
Bassam Abduallah, 28, a Lebanese man living in Jumeirah, agreed with a clampdown.
“I complained to the municipality about these leaflets,” Mr Abduallah said. “I really do not know how the distributors manage to fill my front door and car with adverts.
“Sometimes I call the company and yell at them for using such marketing and advertising techniques.
“It hasn’t made any difference though, and the next day I find the same adverts on my door.”
Increasing the fine from Dh500 to Dh10,000 would be a deterrent, municipality officials said.
“It has been noticed that many illegal adverts and posters have spread in all parts of the city,” said Abdul Majeed Saifaie, director of waste management.
“Such practices negatively affect and distort the appearance of the city.
“First, it is a security issue because these workers are unlicensed and you can never know where they come from. Residents hiring them as maids or using their services are giving them access to their lives, homes and even families.
“Second, it’s a health issue because these workers are unqualified and may not have taken proper measures to carry on with their tasks.
“Also, it’s an environmental issue because of the waste. When drivers find their cars covered with these adverts, they throw them on the streets.”
Mr Saifaie said that his department was in talks with police, the Department of Economic Development and immigration officials to introduce the tougher penalties needed to curb the problem.
He said he agreed with residents’ concerns about the nature of the cards, and this was partly why he was pushing for more stringent punishment.
“It’s extremely inappropriate for teenagers to see some of these ads,” Mr Saifaie said. “Some of these posters carry unsuitable pictures for our culture or children to see.”
A recent one-week campaign across Dubai conducted by the waste management department and Dubai Police resulted in the collection of more than one million adverts and posters.
Inspectors scoured the streets of Al Qusais, Al Hamriya and Abu Hail, taking down adverts and handing out fines to those responsible for placing them.