UAE: Guest Checks In Hotel With A Dead Mans ID

A jobless man has been accused of using a dead man’s Emirates ID to rent a room at a hotel and stay for free, heard a court on Thursday.

An Indian concierge was said to have checked in the 27-year-old Emirati man and his friend at a room in the hotel at Al Ghusais in September.

Two days later when the concierge called up the room to check if the Emirati resident wanted to extend his stay, according to records, no one responded.

The concierge then called up the number that he had been provided before he was told that the person he was asking about had died three years ago.

Prosecutors charged the suspect with using a dead man’s Emirates ID, forging the dead man’s signature while signing on the hotel’s check-in papers.

The Indian concierge reported the matter to the police.

Primary interrogations led to the arrest of the 27-year-old Emirati while his accomplice remained at large.

Prosecutors charged the 27-year-old suspect with using a dead man’s Emirates ID, forging the dead man’s signature while signing on the hotel’s check-in papers.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the suspect committed the crime with another suspect, who remains at large.

The 27-year-old suspect pleaded not guilty when he showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

Presiding judge Habib Awad will hand out a judgement on November 22.

The Indian witness testified to prosecutors: The suspect and his friend came to the reception and wanted to check in. The suspect handed me the Emirates ID and I registered the details.

He then signed on the check-in form for two nights. Two days later, I called up the room to check if they wanted to extend their stay nobody responded.

When I called up the provided mobile number, I was told that the person whose name was on the ID had died three years back. Then I reported the matter to the police.

Tourism Observer

UAE: Sharjah Family Honours Indian Maid Who Worked For Them For 27 Years With Gifts

Sharjah Emirati family offered an Indian maid, who served them for 27 years, with gifts and a grand farewell party to honour her, after she decided to leave for her home country.

One of the extended family members Mohammed Rashid Al Ali, said that Lakshmi, from Andhra Pradesh, a South Indian state, worked with them all these years and was treated as part of their family.

All the children and grandchildren considered her their mother, as she raised them like her own in a loving and caring way.

They knew the parting would create a vacuum in their hearts and Lakshmi's send-off was marked with sobs and tears.

But the family is happy for her as she returned to her country after so many years.

Lakshmi, overwhelmed by emotions at the farewell, said: I have never been treated as a maid in this house but as a family member. They always bought me gifts, clothes and jewellery and supported my family in India financially.

It is difficult to leave the children, but I'm getting old and it is time to go home. I will miss them all.

For the farewell, the family's four villas were decorated elaborately, and all the extended family members and their other staff were brought together for the surprise party.

They kept the preparations a secret and on the day of the send-off, they presented Lakshmi new outfits, pampered her at the beauty salon and brought her to the villa, where there was a cake and a feast ready.

The family also showered her with gold sets, clothes, watches, cash gifts and more.

They even had a banner made with her name on it.

The farewell party was attended by all the children and grandchildren she raised, and other family members.

Our gifts are a mark of appreciation for the love she bestowed on us. I thank Lakshmi from the bottom of my heart for raising two generations of 20 children and grandchildren, Ali said.

Treat others just as you would like to be treated, with respect and dignity.

Every job has its worth, every person doing deserves to be treated honourably.

Wealth may get you to a station in life, but the respect you accord to other humans elevates you as a human.

This family made an outsider, a maid one of their own.

There was love. It changed their lives and hers.

It was a wonderful gesture from the heart!

You can prove yourself to be best in whatever you do. What job you do doesn't matter. I think she has proved this.

Many thanks to the great Emirati family who recognized her great work.

The gratitude and kindness of the Emirati family displays values and respect for each individual who are associated with them. GOD BLESS them abundantly.

I am really moved by the gesture of the Emirati family, that showed the whole world that real love and affection is above all religion, country,language, status and proved we are all human.

Finding words is difficult to appreciate.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Drinker Escapes Getting Lashed

A man sentenced to lashes for drinking alcohol has escaped being flogged after being cleared by the UAE’s top court.

Prosecutors in Ajman charged the Emirati with illegal alcohol consumption and insulting a police officer who caught him drinking.

Officers said the man had insulted the policeman when he and his colleague searched his house to see if he had alcohol on the premises.

Ajman’s first instance court found the man guilty and ordered that he be given 80 lashes. He was also fined Dhs1,000 for insulting a policeman.

But he challenged the ruling, with his lawyer arguing that officers searched his house without getting written permission from public prosecutors, which is illegal.

The Federal Supreme Court cleared him.

UAE: Emirates' New Flight Training Academy To Target More Female Pilots

Major Mariam Al Mansouri from Abu Dhabi

Major Mariam Al Mansouri from Abu Dhabi made headlines in 2014 as the first female pilot to lead strikes against Daesh in Syria.

Emirates will use the new Flight Training Academy it is building in Dubai World Central (DWC) to increase the number of female Emirati pilots employed by the airline.

Emirates is building its own pilot training centre next to its future hub at Al Maktoum International, which it hopes will lessen its reliance or hiring pilots from other airlines or foreign training schools.

“This academy will really fulfil our future demands,” Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Executive Vice-President and Chief Operations Officer, told Gulf News in an interview on Monday at the Dubai Airshow.

It is also being developed so that Emirates will “have control over the quality and type of training” that is provided to its pilots, he said.

The training centre will see through between 300 to 400 cadets a year. Cadet places at the academy will at first only be offered to Emiratis, who will be provided with a full scholarship by Emirates that includes a salary and accommodation.

But Al Redha said it has been challenging in hiring female Emirati pilots, a position that is globally dominated by men.

Al Redha said the airline does hire “some female Emirati and some female non-Emirati” pilots but that in conservative Gulf the job previously been seen as for men.

More pilots needed

He said this is changing, and expects that the training academy and offer to work for Emirates will increase the number of female and male Emiratis at the airline.

“We’re seeing more interest from female [Emiratis] compared to previous years,” he said.

A spokesperson ahead of Monday’s interview declined to say what the gender breakdown was but did say it has 4,121 pilots from 97 different countries.

But Emirates will need a lot more. The airline has 241 all wide-body aircraft in its fleet today and a further 267 on order.

The training academy will start teaching classes in the third quarter next year when part of the site opens, Al Redha said, with an initial batch of 100 cadets.

The cadets will start flying in the second half of 2017 and graduate by the end of 2019.

Al Redha said there are plans to turn the training academy into a commercial business by offering the programme to other airlines and companies.

Last week, Emirates announced it is buying 22 single-piston engine Cirrus SR22’s and 5 twin-jet Embraer Phenom 100E aircraft for the academy, valued at $39 million at list prices.

Al Redha said the airline could purchase an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, both single-aisle aircraft and neither of which are operated by Emirates, for the academy but ruled out buying any wide-body aircraft like the Boeing 777.

UAE: Dubai Reports Record Medical Tourists But Only 40% Are From Outside UAE

Dubai reports record medical tourist numbers but only 40% are from outside the UAE and high expatriate numbers cause confusion.

Dubai is on track to achieve its target of attracting half a million medical tourists this year, five years ahead of schedule, but only 40% of these are from outside the UAE, and there is still major confusion between international patients and medical tourists.

According to figures provided by the main 16 medical tourism hospitals, in the first six months of 2015, Dubai attracted 256,097 medical tourists from within and outside the United Arab Emirates. Layla Al Marzouqi at Dubai Health Authority (DHA) suggests that numbers will rise; “We expect that number to double when we collect data from across all the 30 hospitals and other facilities at the end of the year. “Only 30 hospitals are licensed for medical tourism."

For the 16 hospitals alone, 33% of patients were Asian, 27% European, 23% from within the UAE and other Arab/Gulf countries, and 17% from Africa. Historically, hospitals have only recorded patents as either Dubai citizens or international patients, and not split the latter category into expatriates living in Dubai, expatriates living elsewhere in the UAE, and genuine medical tourists. Europe. Pakistani and Indian expatriates make up more than 37 % of the total population of three emirates Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, according to 2014 statistics from Euromonitor. The five most populous nationalities in the three emirates are Indian (25 %), Pakistani (12 %), Emirati (9%), Bangladeshi (7%), and Filipino (5%). This would explain why there are high Asian numbers in the Dubai figures.

Only 40% of medical tourists are actually from abroad; 60% are from within the UAE according to Linda Abdullah Ali, the DHA head of medical tourism. She adds "Dubai aims to grow the number of medical tourists by around 12 % annually to reach more than 500,000 and generate Dh2.6 billion in revenue by 2020."

The majority of clinics and small hospitals in Dubai only deal with locals which is where figures can get confusing when talking of international patients as Dubai has 1.2 million expatriates within a population of only 4.8 million. Across the UAE 84% of the working population is expatriate; some professionals but mostly low paid domestic and manual workers. In the figures for the 16 hospitals it is not clear if they refer to where the person was based or their nationality. If it is the latter then the actual figures of true medical tourists could be hugely overstated. Historically, hospitals have only recorded patents as either Dubai citizens or international patients, and not split the latter category into expatriates living in Dubai, expatriates living elsewhere in the UAE, and genuine medical tourists.

Many expatriates working in Dubai are from Asia and Europe. So until the DHA can remove the vagueness of whether their figures are international patients including expatriates working within the UAE, or true medical tourists who only go to Dubai for treatment, and ensure that the hospitals have a uniform recording system to differentiate between the two categories-the quoted figures must be treated with caution.

Of Dubai’s 2,900 medical facilities hospitals, clinics and day-care surgery centres, 26 hospitals are private and four are state-run. At least 10 private hospitals are expected to open in the next two years.

Countries in the Arabian Gulf, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Africa are the main source markets for Dubai’s medical tourism industry as prices are relatively high compared to Asian competitors mean it has been unable to attract any real interest from the UK, USA or Western Europe. Cosmetic surgery and wellness treatments are the most popular services, orthopaedic surgeries are the top revenue generators. Infertility treatment and bariatric surgery are also popular.

The success comes at a huge cost to the government and the private sector. The huge amount of time and money spent is because it has to succeed, as it is part of the diversification strategy to increase the non-oil sector. With oil prices still falling and likely to stay low for several years, many Gulf economies will struggle if they cannot successfully diversify.

Some hospitals are designed like hotels with valet parking, VIP rooms, gourmet food and beverage cafes and restaurants. Hospitals are placing emphasis on hospitality and partnerships with leading international health care institutions has proved to be a value added factor. Beyond the infrastructure, the focus is on operational efficiency using state of the art IT systems and high customer care.

Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020 aims to welcome 20 million tourists per year by 2020. There were 13.2 million international overnight visitors in 2014 alone, and 2015 numbers should reach 14 million.

UAE: Man Slits Mother's Throat For Practising Black Magic

Defendant tells judge his mother engaged in witchcraft and he received 'divine message' to kill her.

A man who slit his mother’s throat and cut her tongue told investigators he did it to punish her for practising black magic, a court heard on Monday.

The Sharjah Criminal Court began hearing the case of an Emirati man over an incident that took place in an apartment in Sharjah’s Al Mamzar area in May.

The public prosecution has sought capital punishment for the defendant, who is in his late 20s.

In court, the defendant told the judge that his mother practised witchcraft and that he had received a "divine message" to kill her to stop her from committing evil deeds.

He added that the incident took place after his aunt had told him about how his mother dabbled in black magic.

Upon searching his mother’s house, the defendant claimed to have found material and papers related to black magic.

On confronting his 50-year-old mother, the man claimed that she admitted to practicing witchcraft.

The accused said he then rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and slit his mother’s throat.

According to court records, the defendant continued staying with the decomposed body in the apartment.

The incident came to light when police were tipped off that a man was brandishing a knife in a supermarket and refusing to pay for the items he bought.

When police arrived and sought to see identity documents, the man took them to the apartment where police found the body.