A total of 654 beggars were arrested in four emirates including 237 in Abu Dhabi, 222 in Dubai, 144 in Sharjah and 51 in Ras Al Khaimah.
Brigadier General Muslim Mohammed Al Ameri, Deputy Director of the Criminal Security Sector at Abu Dhabi Police, stated that beggars attempt to gain sympathy from members of society by fabricating misleading stories to obtain money.
Handing money or alms over to beggars unintentionally encourages them to continue begging, which leads to the spread of crimes committed under the guise of begging, he said.
Dubai Police arrested 222 beggars during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr including 127 during the first half of Ramadan with over Dhs50,000 seized in their possession.
Earlier, Sharjah Police revealed the results of its awareness campaign titled ‘Begging is a Crime and Giving is a Responsibility,’ which aimed at spreading awareness and curbing this phenomenon. The efforts exerted by field teams resulted in the arrest of 144 male and female beggars during Ramadan and the confiscation of over Dhs76,000 found in their possession.
Brigadier General Omar Al Ghazal Al Shamsi, Director of the Special Tasks Department, who is also Head of Beggars and Street Vendors Monitoring Team at Sharjah Police, explained that a member of society reported an Arab who was begging near a mosque, alleging to be in need and facing financial difficulties. Upon arrival at the scene, a police patrol arrested the beggar, who was found to be residing illegally in the country. A total of Dhs14,000 was found in his possession, which investigations revealed that it was collected in just three days of begging.
Ras Al Khaimah Police previously announced the arrest of 51 beggars as part of an anti-begging campaign launched by the Media and Public Relations Department, in co-operation with the Comprehensive Police Stations Department, under the slogan ‘Fight begging and help those who truly need it.’ These included 34 male beggars and 17 female beggars.
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution’s Criminal Information Centre ‘Waey’ stated that according to articles 476 and 477 of the federal decree-law no. 31 for 2021, anyone of an organized group of two people or more who manages the crime of organized begging will face a jail term of no less than six months and be fined no less than Dhs100,000.
The same penalty will be imposed on whoever brings people to the country to use them in organized begging.
Further, whoever participates in the crime of organized begging will face a jail term of no more than three months and be fined no less than Dhs5,000 or either of these two penalties.