Tag Archives: lifestyle
Gang of five robbers who target companies caught
Gang of five robbers who target companies caught Staff Reporter / 12 June 2013 A gang of five Asians, who allegedly break in and burgle establishments at night, were arrested by Abu Dhabi Police on Friday in a sting operation code-named “Jerboas of the Dark”, due to the suspect’s attempts to avoid detection. The gang — comprising of several heavy-built members — specialised in robbing private industrial companies in Al Mafraq and Musaffah areas in the Capital. A combination of illustrations showing how the gang burgled company buildings. — Supplied photos The suspects would catch watchmen off guard, before binding them with rope and cutting the wires on the surveillance cameras, Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at ADP Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammad Bu Rasheed said. “The knife-armed and masked members of the gang managed to burgle company buildings and made off with cash, cooper metals and diesel, at amounts estimated at Dh1.8 million”, he noted. Col. Dr Bu Rasheed added that after a spate of reports were filed at the Operations Room of the CID, by companies working in the field of transportation, contracting and manufacturing of electric switch keys, a search and investigation team affiliated to the anti-organised crime division was formed to track down the perpetrators. The burglaries had been ongoing for the last two months. The efforts of the team resulted in a number of the suspects being captured, despite the lack of information in the case, he said, adding that the disconnection of the wires from the CCTV, among other precautionary measures, failed to allude them from the authorities. Upon interrogation, the perpetrators, H.G., 30, T. N., 25, A.H., 28, B.W., 25 and N.R., 26, all Pakistani, confessed to the robberies. They claimed they assigned the stronger members of the gang to holding the watchmen hostage. A quick-moving member of the gang was given the task of disconnecting the CCTV cameras, as well as keeping watch, while the remaining members started emptying the contents inside of the desk drawers and safes inside before fleeing the scene. Upon arrival at the targeted company, the members of the gang would knock on the door of the watchman’s room before hiding. “Once the watchman or the worker at the establishment opened the door to find out who was knocking…the members of the gang attacked him and beat him up”, he said, quoting the victims. After threatening to kill them at knife-point, they would then hand over the keys of the safes and stores to the gang, he said, noting that the gang later locked them up in a closed room after tying their hands and stealing their personal belongings. Col. Dr Bu Rasheed said the culprits used two motor vehicles during their crime spree — one saloon and one pickup — depending on the type of building they were targeting. They used the saloon car in limited thefts related to money, while the second vehicle was used in stealing and loading cooper and drums filled with diesel. Col. Dr Bu Rasheed said they gang were able to easily target these places as companies often hired untrained watchmen to guard the premises. The members of the gang, according to him, are on a legal residence working visa in the country, but practice burglary as a part-time money earner, noting that the gang had locked up 11 watchmen and workers (victims), in five separate burglaries. He further said that a number of the victims succeeded to untie the ropes from their hands and legs and inform the police, while some others were discovered tied-up the next day. Col. Dr Bu Rasheed said the police will keep a watchful eye and take action against any ill-minded persons who try to breach public order and break in to others’ properties. He urged the owners of the companies to ensure that the doors and windows of their companies are tightly locked when official working hours are over. He also advised them not to leave cash inside. He further warned the owners of the companies not to pose over-confidence in the employees of their establishments, and not inform them on the security measures and the valuables inside the company, as the culprits, when questioned, said that they had obtained information on the premises through word of mouth. He called on companies to sign contracts with security companies or delegate experienced employees for training to cope professionally with eventualities such as this, and not to rest on the company workers to perform security works. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Shaikh Mohammed holds talks with French minister
Shaikh Mohammed holds talks with French minister (Wam) / 12 June 2013 His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at his residence in Paris on Tuesday. Shaikh Mohammed and Shaikh Hamdan holding talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Paris on Tuesday. — Wam In attendance was Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. Fabius said the UAE leader’s visit was highly appreciated by the French president and government. He stressed the depth of the historical relations between the UAE and France in various fields. Shaikh Mohammed and the French minister discussed a number of issues of common concern, and ways to develop cooperation in the fields of economy, science, tourism and culture. They also addressed a number of international and Arab issues, especially the Syria strife. Shaikh Mohammed presented the French minister with a copy of his book, My Vision. Shaikh Mohammed is heading a high-profile delegation on a three-day visit to Paris during which he will meet French President Francois Hollande. The delegation accompanying Shaikh Mohammed comprises Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Dubai Civil Aviation and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Cabinet Affairs Minister Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Mohammed Gergash, Minister of State Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Dubai Ruler’s Court Director-General Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director of Dubai Ruler’s Office Lt. General Musabbah Rashid Al Fattan, Dubai Director of Protocol and Hospitality Khalifa Saeed Suleiman and UAE Ambassador to France Mohammad Meer Abdullah Al Raessi. The delegation also includes members of the National Higher Committee for Dubai Expo 2020, including Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General of the Dubai Municipality Hussain Nasser Lootah, Deputy Police Chief of Dubai Major General Khamis Mattar Al Muzainah and Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai World Trade Centre and Director-General of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing Hilal Saeed Al Marri. Continue reading
KT Impact: Indian mission eases passport rule
KT Impact: Indian mission eases passport rule Sajila Saseendran / 12 June 2013 Married Indian expatriates in the UAE will not be denied 10-year passports even if they do not prove their marriage at the time of passport renewal, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has declared following a Khaleej Times report. The move is expected to benefit many blue-collared Indian workers. The embassy’s announcement on Tuesday came after a KT report on June 2 exposed a rule under which married applicants were forced to settle for short validity passports if they failed to produce a duly attested marriage certificate. Officials were specifically asking for attestation from the home department of the state where applicants’ wedding took place. The report revealed that some applicants started denying their marriage when they were told that they would be issued passports valid for only two years, instead of a full validity of 10 years, due to this rule. Also, several applicants had to pay Dh30 extra to BLS International, the outsourcing agency for Indian passport and visa services, for typing an undertaking to be attached with their application. The undertaking was to assure the authorities the submission of attested marriage certificate by the time of their next passport renewal. After a thorough investigation into the issue, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, M.K. Lokesh, said that the rule was “enforced by the Indian Consulate in Dubai without consulting the Embassy”. “The consulate [officials] had verbally instructed the BLS staff to implement the rule. They have been told to stop it…We are taking corrective measures,” he said. The ambassador said the consulate had been asked to revert to the old system and not limit the validity of the passports based on applicants’ marital status. “It shouldn’t be the case. We ask for proof of marriage only when applicants wish to endorse the name of their spouse. If they don’t, we leave that [column] blank.” However, when indicated that this paper is in possession of a similar complaint from an applicant in Abu Dhabi, Lokesh said he did not wish to talk about individual cases which may have entirely different background. Nevertheless, the Ambassador said the employees of BLS have been instructed not to ask for any undertaking related to submission of attested marriage certificate. According to sources, several hundreds of applicants have already submitted this undertaking, having paid extra money to the service provider. “There is no such requirement. As per the passport rules, an applicant wishing to endorse the spouse’s name has to produce either a duly attested marriage certificate or a joint affidavit sworn before a court in India. If people cannot get the marriage certificate attested by the home department, they have the option of producing the joint affidavit from the court.” In a statement issued to the media, the Embassy clarified that there has been no change in rules regarding the process of updating marital status in Indian passports. “Applicants can update change in personal information, including marital status after marriage or divorce, if any, in their passports by applying for Inclusion / Deletion of Spouse Name Service along with duly attested copies of Marriage Certificate / Divorce Decree issued by the Indian authorities concerned in centres of BLS International, outsourcing service providers of Indian Embassy / Consulate.” “Applicants, in case choose to update change in their marital status at the time of re-issue of passports after expiry of its validity, can also do it by submitting duly attested copies of Marriage Certificate / Divorce Decree by the Indian authorities concerned along with the application for re-issue of passports.” “In case requisite documentary proof is not enclosed along with application, the re-issued passports will continue to reflect marital status as per entries in the previous passports, notwithstanding change in status of the applicants. However, the above will not have any effect on the validity of thus re-issued passports which is normally 10 years subject to fulfillment of other conditions.” “Indian nationals are advised to endeavour to keep updated personal information, including marital status, in their passports to avoid any inconvenience,” the mission said. The Embassy also provided the link http://www.indembassyuae.org/drupal/MiscellaneousPassport for detailed information on process to apply for Endorsement of Spouse Name. In certain urgent or emergency cases, it said, passports are issued for short validity of six months or more but less than the normal validity of 10 years. “In such cases, the remaining validity of the passport could be granted without payment of additional fee as the fee for 10 years is collected at the time of issue of short validity passport.” Some applicants, who had to settle for short validity passports due to the rule that drew flak, welcomed the decision to abolish it. They said it would ease things for several applicants, mainly the workers who were finding it difficult to produce duly attested marriage certificates. sajila@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
