Man jailed, fined over Dhs2m for housing infiltrators

ABU DHABI: The Supreme Federal Court upheld the verdict sentencing a person to a month in jail followed by deportation, besides a fine of Dhs2,450,000 for harbouring infiltrators, housing violating foreigners and employing them while they were not on his sponsorship.

Details of the case date back to an earlier time when secret sources knew that there were infiltrators working at a workshop.

The authorities raided the workshop and arrested 3 persons working there though they were not on its owner’s sponsorship.

On being questioned, they said the suspect brought them from their home country and offered them work in the workshop. They added he housed them, in violation of the provisions of the Entry and Residence of Foreigners Law.

The Public Prosecution charged the suspect with working in a field that violates the residence granted to him and his conniving with others to house violated infiltrators, employing workers who were not on his sponsorship.

The Court of First Instance ruled that the suspect be imprisoned for a month on the charge of working in a field that violates the residence granted to him, deportation and fined him Dhs1,150,000 and Dhs200,000 for each charge of employing foreigners who were not on his sponsorship and obliged him to pay the fees.

The suspect appealed and the Appellate

Court uphold the verdict and obliged him to pay the fees, so he appealed again and the Public Prosecution submitted a memorandum requesting that the appeal be rejected.

The suspect indicated in his appeal that there was no proof that he housed anybody, adding that they were caught in a workshop, not a house.

He added there were no papers or rental contracts to prove there were inhabitants, affirming that none received any cash from them.

He also added that he was not the employer, had not employed any of the other suspects, and that there was no proof that they received salaries, and therefore the charge of employing workers without his sponsorship is denied.

Recently, the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court looked into the case of two young Europeans charged with counterfeiting two entry permits to a government body in Abu Dhabi.

The Public Prosecution charged the two suspects with forging the two permits and presenting them to the security men working for the government body, but they suspected the two permits.

During the session, the court presented the false permits to the suspects, who denied they knew about them, and denied the accusation.