Woman conned into paying Dh3m to acquire citizenship

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution ordered the detention of two people for conning an Arab woman.

An Emirati woman, F.A.G., and an Iraqi man, A.M.S., promised the victim that they would get her UAE citizenship in exchange for an amount close to Dh3 million and got Dh2,846,000 from her.

In 2011, the victim met F.A.G., a former work colleague who had been living with her family in the UAE for a long time.

Having applied earlier for UAE citizenship without success, the victim asked her friend whether she knew someone who could help her obtain citizenship.

F.A.G. told the victim that she was working with the government authority responsible for issuing citizenship. She also told the victim that she was a member in a top confidential committee tasked with issuing citizenship and would follow up her case personally.

F.A.G. asked the victim to submit passport photographs, passport copies and a citizenship fee of Dh600,000.

Application process

The victim submitted the required documents and made the payment in full. However, F.A.G. continued asking for more money to finalise the application process.

Subsequently, the second defendant ,A.M.S., engaged the victim. He called the victim claiming he was a security officer who worked for the authority responsible for granting citizenship. He told the victim that her application was reviewed and under process. He assured her that he would use his connections with influential people to secure her citizenship.

Both suspects asked the victim for further amounts of money until the total sum paid by the victim reached Dh2,846,000.

The suspects started to pressure the victim to pay additional amounts of money, threatening to deport her and her family if she did not comply.

The victim had used up all her savings, and could no longer afford to pay the requested sums so she decided to file a complaint against the defendants.

Both the accused were arrested and referred to the public prosecution who ordered their detention for seven days pending investigation.

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Three accused of gang-raping woman

Dubai: Three men have been charged with gang-raping a waitress after pretending to be police officers to lure her to a hotel in Ajman.

A 26-year-old Bangladeshi carpenter, M.K, and his two compatriots, who remain at large, are charged with posing as CID men then kidnapping the Filipina waitress and driving her to a flat in Ajman where they gang-raped her. The defendants were also accused of stealing the 33-year-old Filipina's mobile phone and Dh200.

M.K. failed to appear before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday where he was scheduled to stand trial.

Presiding Judge Jasem Al Beloushi adjourned the case until M.K. was legally notified about the next hearing on June 21.

Chief prosecutor Ahmad Mohammad Al Hammadi asked for the implementation of a death punishment against the defendant.

According to the charge sheet, M.K. and the two runaways, L.S. and M.A., claimed to be police officers and forced the waitress into their car. Then they threatened to throw her in jail or kill her if she refused to have sex with them.

When she refused and asked them to take her to the police station, one of the defendants punched her on the face.

Bus station

The trio then took her to a hotel apartment where they raped her one at a time.

Records said the defendants stole her money and mobile phone then they handed her Dh50 and left her at the bus station in Sharjah.

The waitress, identified as J.M., testified that she had finished work around 2am when the suspects, posing as policemen, stopped her near a supermarket.

"One of them showed me a police ID. They pushed me into the car and they drove off. On the way, one of them said they will throw me in prison or kill me if I refused to have sex with the three of them… I rejected and asked to be taken to police detention. They beat me on my face and I bled. They blindfolded me and continued driving around 30 minutes. They stopped in front of two furnished apartment buildings before they forced me into a flat.

"They said I will be killed if I cried for help or tried to escape… then beat me again and removed my clothes by force. The trio raped and molested me one by one," J.M. claimed to prosecutors.

Arrested

Prosecution records said the defendants took her back in their car and dropped her in Sharjah. When they dropped her in the bus station, according to her statement, she recorded the car plate number before she reported to the police.

An Emirati lieutenant testified that the airport police at Dubai International Airport arrested M.K. when he returned from abroad. "M.K. claimed during questioning that they had consensual sex with the Filipina… he denied the rape and kidnap charges," the lieutenant claimed.

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Half of workers don't mind if the boss is a woman

Habiba Hamid

ABU DHABI // More than 50 per cent of workers do not mind if their boss is male or female, according to a survey released yesterday.

However, 44 per cent of those questioned for Al Aan TV's Nabd al Arab, ("Arabs' Pulse") programme by YouGov Siraj, admitted that to be a good boss, then the boss has to be male.

YouGov Siraj interviewed 759 residents of all nationalities, and found that few Emiratis (5.5pc), Arab expatriates (6pc), Asians (4.6pc) and westerners (7pc) believed women make better bosses than men.

Sixty two per cent of Emiratis said that for a boss to be good, they should be male. That attitude spanned all nationalities other than westerners, of which 17 per cent said that men make the best bosses.

Two thirds (69pc) of all those working and reporting to someone senior said they were either extremely or somewhat satisfied with their boss.

But one in six (16pc) were ambivalent while 15.5 per cent either dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied.

That level of dissatisfaction, according to Talib Al Hashimi, of Next Level Management and Recruitment Consultancy, is on the rise. "I've seen an increase in dissatisfied employees in the past few years," he said, "especially among UAE nationals who are now willing to take a pay cut for job satisfaction.

"After the downturn, many left for Abu Dhabi to work. But two years down the line, there's a realisation that people are willing to move and try the private sector for instance, in order to find job satisfaction, which is increasingly important."

Of those who were unhappy with their boss, two in five believed he or she tended to have favourites, while just as many (48pc) said their boss was ill-qualified to manage them.

Worryingly, 27 per cent believed fraud was frequently committed in the workplace. "That's consistent with what I've been hearing - people do believe and there have been instances of fraud, mismanagement, wasta, nepotism in the workplace" said Mr Al Hashimi.

Further down the scale of offences, two in five thought minor theft of company property, such as stationary or work equipment, occurred regularly.

Almost as many (38pc) said private information was often misused at work, and that inappropriate relationships at work - between a boss and an employee for instance - were common (31pc).

Thirty six per cent admitted they had either pretended to be sick in order to take a day off work - or intended to. Only a little more than half (56pc) said they would not consider it.

All this contributes to an atmosphere of disloyalty; four in five (80pc) said they would switch jobs in return for higher pay or a better package.

And while two thirds believed flexible working hours would result in more motivation and better productivity, 83 per cent would also like to see regular incentives and perks.

Maysoon Baraky, the presenter of Nabd Al Arab, said the survey "reflected an issue that has always been a main topic for employees - their boss".

While it was hardly surprising, she said, that many workers regarded their boss as incompetent, "we cannot ignore the importance of the financial part ... 78 per cent are ready to change their job for a better financial status".

hhamid@thenational.ae

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Court jails two men for 'consensual' sex with woman

Dubai: The Dubai Court of First Instance Thursday acquitted two men of kidnap but convicted them of having consensual sex with a Turkmen businesswoman, who claimed they raped her.

The court jailed the defendants, M.G., a 41-year-old Russian businessman, and T.Q., his 26-year-old Tajik friend, for one year after modifying the charge from rape to consensual sex.

Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad also jailed M.G. for an additional month and fined him Dh5,000 for assaulting the 26-year-old businesswoman. He faces another month in jail for consuming liquor as well.

"The accused will be deported after serving their punishments. The court has also overthrown the claimant's civil lawsuit," said Presiding Judge Abdul Jawad, pronouncing yesterday's verdict in courtroom four.

Earlier, defending himself in court, M.G. has argued: "That is absolutely not true. I didn't rape her or lock her up in a villa against her will. We had consensual sex."

His Tajik friend, T.Q., contended: "I am not guilty. Her accusations are baseless and malicious. I did not rape her. It was consensual sex."

Prosecutors had charged M.G. with kidnapping the businesswoman, N.A., and locking her up in his villa against her will. M.G. and T.Q. were jointly accused of raping N.A., while the Russian was also charged with consuming liquor. M.G. admitted that he consumed two beers.

N.A. testified that she got acquainted with the businessman in Sharjah Airport eight months prior to the incident.

"When I met him, he gave me his number and asked me to call him anytime I needed a lift… I lived in Bur Dubai and worked in Naif. He drove me from home to work several times during a period of eight months. On the day of the incident, he did not drop me home but took me to his villa and locked me up. He repeatedly asked to have sex with me, but I refused. Then he beat me and raped me repeatedly while he kept me at his place. The next day T.Q. came with him and he raped me as well," N.A. claimed to prosecutors.

According to her statement, N.A. said she failed to escape, from the house because it was properly locked. She claimed she could not resist the defendants while they were raping her because they overpowered her.

The court dismissed her civil lawsuit in which she sought Dh20,000 in temporary compensation against alleged emotional and psychological damage.

The verdict remains subject to appeal within 15 days.

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