Who imported kidnap and sex crimes?

Very few countries will see the kind of diversity that the UAE created by welcoming and hosting people of around 200 nationalities. The immediate result is the diversity in crimes seen in the country.

From petty crimes seen in the earlier days, the types of crimes have also witnessed a significant change over the past decades when more nationalities joined the expatriate population in the country. Today, crime records show crimes unheard of during the earlier days making an entry with the people who perpetrated in elsewhere.

Hence, a peep into court records would disclose that besides the usual cases of bounced cheques, or petty crime, there are crimes like money-doubling, sexual offences, and even IT-related crimes being reported from within the country.

Although many of these crimes have a direct relation to the perpetrators’ cultural or ethnic background, experts say this is in no way to put a stamp on people of any nationality. Just as there are good and bad everywhere, it is the black sheep in some societies that carry their trade of criminal activities even when they live in relatively safe countries like the UAE.

According to the Dubai Courts annual report, the three courts that come under the emirate’s judicial authority witnessed a 47 per cent surge in cases registered in 2009. The year saw 49,429 cases being registered with the Dubai Court of First Instance, Dubai Court of Appeal and the Dubai Cassation Court. The number was 33,558 in 2008.

Criminal cases also saw a 21 per cent increase from the previous year with 30,567 cases being filed at the Court of First Instance, up from 25,257 in 2008.

The number of cases filed before the Court of Appeal rose from 6976 in 2008 to 7623 in 2009 – a rise of 9.2 per cent.

Cased pending with the Court Cassation increased 11.1 per cent to 499 from 449 in 2008.

While the rise in cases establishes the rise in crime, it is however seen as just an inevitable part of any society’s development.  Juma Al Bawardi, a well-known lawyer said the rise in crime in directly linked to the rise in population and influx of foreign nationals rarely seen anywhere.

Although certain crimes can be linked to some nationalities, he said people cannot be bracketed according to that. Just as there are good in every society, he said there are bad people as well.

While Asians form the largest group in cases related to cheques bouncing due to insufficient funds in bank accounts, most of those involved in money laundering rackets are either Africans or people from the erstwhile Soviet republics, Bawardi said.

Many of those involved in drug cases, violence and kidnappings are also Asian nationals, he said.

“The diversity of UAE’s population has also led to the emergence of crimes the local community is not familiar with,” he said referring to crimes such as child abuse and sexual offences.

He called for stiffer penalties in drug cases and repeat offences and sought deportation for most crimes.

However lawyer Haroun Tahlak was against linking the diversity of population to the types of crimes being witnessed. “Crime is a reflection of economic conditions and changes experienced by the communities,” he added.

He said the prevalence of financial crimes such as bad cheques, breach of trust or money laundering is linked to the global economic situation and its impact in many countries.

Citing an example, he pointed out the rise in labour disputes as employers are unable pay when they go bust. 
 
A window to crimes reported

Thirteen Asian nationals are in the dock for allegedly murdering two of their compatriots in Dubai. The Dubai Criminal Court is hearing the case that is linked to turf war in illegal liquor trade in Jebel Ali.

Six Asians are facing charges of stealing a car from Redha Al Ansari Exchange after assaulting its driver. The alleged culprits monitored the movement of the car used to carry cash and staged an act masquerading as policemen to get rid of the driver.

In another  case an Asian national was accused of trying to bribe an inspector with Dubai Municipality who caught him selling counterfeit watches.

Three other Asians face charges of robbing another Asian man after luring him into a honey trap of sex.

A Dubai court is also hearing a case of an Asian man raping a Filipina and later threatening to distribute her nude pictures if she didn’t yield to his contacts.

Two Asian women face charges of trying to sell a child, one of them bore through an illegitimate relationship.

An Argentinian air hostess is now in the dock for trying to bribe an examiner to pass her driving test in Dubai, while in another case involving non-Asians, a European woman stands accused of drug abuse.

A German national who used to be a director of a company was caught at Dubai airport when he tried to bribe Dh50,000 to an officer when he realised he was wanted in a cheque-related case.

Arabs face charges in sexual crimes and financial matters. A young Arab man was caught for luring an Arab girl to his apartment and trying rape her. But the girl jumped from the second floor to escape.

Two other Arab employees of a bank face charges of cheating a UAE national who had applied for a loan. The unsuspecting applicant was asked to sign two cheques as guarantee for the loan. The men withdrew Dh103,000 from the applicant’s account.

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