Beggars using forged medical reports to trick

Beggars coming to the UAE are disguised as tourists and are using forged medical reports to make quick money although begging is banned in the country, an Abu Dhabi police chief was reported on Sunday as saying.

Despite intensified police patrols to combat begging, the public should cooperate and curb this negative phenomenon by stopping alms to those people, said Brigadier Makoum Al Sharifi, director of the Capital police.

In comments published in the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum, Sharifi said many beggars visiting the UAE had been involved in house burglary in the country, adding that their number normally increases during Ramadan.

“Most beggars in the UAE come as tourists or to visit their relatives…they come here to take advantage of the good nature of our society, using various techniques, including causing mayhem on their bodies,” he said.

“Many of them also use forged medical reports or prescriptions to beg for more money….some are also using false papers to raise funds for the construction of schools, hospitals and other institutions…we urge the public not to cooperate with these beggars and to report any of them to the police…we already have many charity organizations which are doing their job sincerely.”

Sharifi said police patrols near mosques and other places caught 40 beggars during Ramadan last year and that 85 per cent of them were Asians and the rest were Arabs. “Many of them were caught nears mosques and at houses.”

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