Crackdown in Dubai, Sharjah nets 91 ‘seasonal’ beggars
OFFICIALS SAY SOME EVEN ARRIVE POSING AS BUSINESSMEN TO BEG
Ninety-one beggars have been arrested since the launch of an anti-begging campaign by authorities in Dubai and Sharjah, officials said yesterday.
Brigadier Mohammad Rashid Bin Sari Al Muhairi, deputy director of Criminal Investigation Department of Dubai Police, said most of the beggars were caught in markets, near mosques and residential areas. He warned the public not to be duped by beggars who use various tricks to seek their sympathy.
“We have a team of officers to crack down on beggars during Ramadan. People shouldn’t sympathise with beggars as they trick many people by pretending they have disabilities or diseases. Most of the people who were arrested were physically fit and have no disability,” Brigadier Al Muhairi said.
Last Ramadan police arrested 154 beggars compared to 641 beggars in 2016.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Ali Salem Al Shamsi, director of the Infiltrators Department in Dubai Police, said most of the beggars were Asian men who enter the country on visit visas posing as businessmen. “They were pretending they have disabilities or diseases and can’t work. All were visitors and some of them enter the country as businessmen,” Lt Col Al Shamsi said.
He said police arrested some women residents who used their children to get public sympathies.
One woman beggar was arrested with an infant in a mall, and another woman beggar was caught hiding between cars in a parking lot.
“One of the beggars was sitting in a wheelchair, hiding his arm inside his shirt and posing as an amputee. He was physically fit,” he added
Teams from Dubai Municipality, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Dubai and Al Awqaf will help police. Authorities urged people to call 901 if they spot a beggar. This year, police arrested 232 beggars, including 171 men and 61 women. Last year, police arrested 653 beggars, including 136 women. Since 2016, Dubai Police have nabbed 1,906 beggars.
Begging is punishable with a one-month jail term, followed by deportation and confiscation of money.
Police have warned people against begging on social media. “People should be careful when they receive messages or posts on social networks regarding poor people who need help as most of it is not true or is just another scam.”
In Sharjah, the Department of Criminal Investigation launched an anti-begging hotline.
Residents in the emirate are being asked to call dedicated numbers and report what is described as “seasonal begging”.
Residents can call 901 and hotline number 80040 and report instances of begging in Sharjah.
Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Rahman Nasser Al Shamsi, head of Wanted people section at Sharjah Police, said: “The aim of this campaign is to encourage the public to cooperate with the police and protect the emirate.
Police said the number of beggars arrested in the emirate decreased drastically with only 13 beggars caught since the start of the campaign.