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29 March 2024

Woman visitor used 'leased' child for begging

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By Staff

A woman was arrested recently by Dubai Police for leasing a child and making him beg, a police official said.

The woman entered the country on a tourist visa claiming the child to be hers, but investigations following her arrest revealed that she had no blood relations with the boy and that she hired him from his country of origin to beg.

As the religious season approaches, a time that witnesses heightened instance of begging, Dubai Police is cautioning people against encouraging beggars by giving them alms, Al Bayan reported.

However, cases of begging in Dubai have come down over the years compared to other countries and states in the region, Colonel Jamal Al Jallaf, deputy of General Department of Crime Monitoring Affairs at Dubai Police said.

“90 per cent of the beggars in the UAE entered the country on tourism visas pretending to take part in religious events and festival,” disclosed Col. Al Jallaf, adding that this was one of the reasons why the UAE authorities tightened visa procedures.

Veiled problem

One of the main obstacles facing policemen in their efforts to combat begging is the veil (niqab) worn by women to conceal their identity, a senior police officer told Gulf News.

 Colonel Jamal Al Jallaf, Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Department for Administration and Control, said policewomen were included in the Dubai Police campaigns against begging to overcome this problem.

 "We would like to stress that most beggars do not need to beg but use it as an umbrella to enable them to commit crimes."