Brigadier Abdul Raheem Bin Shafi'a.

The Dubai Police have helped a tourist return safely to her home country after she had been stranded in the UAE due to the global outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

According to Brigadier Abdul Raheem Bin Shafi'a, Director of Al Barsha Police Station, the tourist was spotted during the usual rounds done by one of the patrols affiliated to the station. “Our police officers approached the distressed woman who looked fatigued and needed immediate assistance,” Brig. Bin Shafi'a said.

"As our officers accompanied her to the station, they learned that the Asian woman had come to Dubai with a tourist visa before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, However, because of the precautionary measures undertaken by the UAE and many other countries against COVID-19, the airports were closed and she had to stay in the city with little cash to spare. When the officers found her, she had already checked out from the hotel as she ran out of money," Brig. Bin Shafi'a added.

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The director of Al Barsha Police Station further explained that the station contacted the Victim Support Programme at Dubai Police to take over her case. Brig. Bin Shafi'a said the Programme provided her with the moral and physiological support she needed as she was traumatised and under a great deal of stress.

"After she was admitted to one of the hospitals and received the necessary medical care, the station booked her a room at one of the hotels in the jurisdiction area until we, in cooperation with the partners, provided her with a ticket to fly back home and facilitated her COVID-19 test and travel procedures," Brig. Bin Shafi'a continued.

The director of Al Barsha Police Station explained that the kind gesture was in line with the directives of Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, and the follow-up of Expert Major General Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs.

He also lauded the vigilance of the patrolmen who spotted the distressed Asian and their efforts towards promoting a positive image of Dubai Police officers.

On her part, the Asian tourist extended her thanks to the Dubai Police for their generous and kind help, for they were able to turn her ordeal into a success story.