Dubai, July 04, 2015: Begging is not just for the poor and destitute anymore. It seems to have become a lucrative ’career’ for people looking to make a quick buck. Recently, a ’beggar’ was arrested near the Naif Mosque in Dubai, who turned out to be a tourist on a ’business’ visa. He was actually staying at a five-star hotel in Deira.
The man had Dhs 10,000 in his possession and a closet full of designer clothes and watches. The African man used to spend his days at the Naif mosque dressed in rags, begging for cash, telling people he was desperate.
The man, in his mid-thirties, owned suits from high-end designers like Gucci, Dolce& Gabana among others.
According to a report in 7 days, Colonel Ali Salim Al Shamsi, director of the Infiltrators Department at Dubai Police, which deals with begging, said, “He was living in a luxury hotel, wearing luxury clothes at night and used to go to expensive restaurants.” He added: “Sometimes beggars can make nearly Dhs 10,000 per day.”
According to reports, almost 70 beggars have been arrested in Dubai since the start of Ramadan. Recently, four Asian women were caught in the Naif area, one of them even had a baby with her. Interestingly, the baby was not even hers. The ’beggar’ woman had borrowed the baby from a friend. Al Shamsi said: “She used her friend’s baby to help her in begging – she wasn’t even the mother.”
This is not the first case of a ’rich beggar’ being arrested in Dubai this Ramadan. A woman was arrested last week for begging who was staying at a high-end hotel with her three kids.
Al Shamsi added: “She used to leave them for long hours, asking hotel staff to serve them three meals a day.” All three have been transferred to prosecutors. Dubai Police have called for tougher laws on begging, which currently carry a one month jail sentence and deportation.
Courtesy: gdnonline.com