11 DSF-dedicated information kiosks to guide shoppers

Official DSF guide to be distributed at the kiosks

 

Dubai: Eleven Information Kiosks have been set up all over the city to help residents and visitors navigate their way through the countless shopping, community events, and outdoor activities on offer for the 18th Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) this year.

Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, the festival organisers, said that the DSF-dedicated kiosks have been set up for the first time in DSF’s 18-year history due to the unprecedented scale of this year’s festival. The 32-day festival will run until February 3 with the slogan “Dubai at its Best.”

“Just as Dubai is at its best during the DSF, we, too, always endeavour to give the best to our guests during this unique festival,” the festival organisers said in a statement.

“With the biggest and best DSF being organised this year, we felt the need to introduce the information desks in order to take care of our guests better and guide them towards having an even more enjoyable experience,” the statement added.

Article continues belowNine outdoor information kiosks can be found in key DSF venues such as Al Riqqa Street, Al Seef Street, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Dubai Creek Park. Festival Promenade will have three information kiosks while Global Village will have two. Meanwhile, The Dubai Mall and Dubai Festival City Mall – two of the most important malls for the festival – will each host an indoor stall to entertain DSF-related queries from residents and visitors.

The official DSF guide, which contains details about all festival events and promotions and their location maps, will be distributed at the kiosks.

Experience shopping and entertainment like no other in six main venues for this year’s DSF namely Dubai Festival City, Al Seef and Al Rigga Street, Dubai Creek Park, Heritage and Diving Village and Downtown Dubai. More than 7,000 retail shops are participating in this year’s festival.

 

Source: Gulf News

 

Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project 80 per cent complete, RTA says

Road capacity set to increase to 6,000 vehicles per hour

 

Dubai: Traffic flow near the Rashid Hospital will be smoother in five months’ time with the expected June 20 opening of the Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project, which is now 80 per cent complete, a senior official from Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) said.

“The construction of Rashid Hospital Tunnels Project is part of a master plan aimed to ease the traffic congestion in the vicinity of Rashid Hospital and step up the traffic flow in the area,” Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA, said. “Upon the project completion, the capacity of roads within the scope of the project is set to rise to as much as 6000 vehicles per hour.”

Al Tayer said Dh722-million roads and tunnel project is expected to be fully completed and opened for traffic by June 20, 2013. The project comprises the construction of roads and two tunnels, each comprising two lanes. The tunnels will serve inbound traffic from Tariq Bin Ziyad & Umm Harir Streets and heading towards the intersection of Al Riyadh Street with the extension of the Floating Bridge.

The first tunnel will pass through Tariq Bin Ziyad Street underneath Al Maktoum Bridge while the second tunnel will pass through Oud Metha Park. Both tunnels will merge to form a four-lane street going towards Al Riyadh Street through Rashid Hospital.

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RTA also converted the junction of Al Riyadh Street with the Floating Bridge Extension into a four-lane passageway. Part of the project included the widening of Tariq bin Ziyad Street, improving Oud Metha & Umm Harir Streets, and constructing a road to handle the traffic inbound from the Floating Bridge and heading towards Tariq bin Ziyad Street.

“The project contractor has completed all infrastructure works related to DEWA, sewage services and Etisalat as well as the construction works in vehicular & pedestrian tunnels, and the electromechanical works in the tunnels,” Al Tayer said.

To further ease traffic flow in the Bur Dubai area, RTA has undertaken several projects including the Floating Bridge to reduce tailbacks and enhance road capacity with continued urbanisation and traffic growth rates. The project included improving the efficiency of junctions near Al Riyadh Street and adding another lane to Khalid Bin Al Waleed Street and Oud Metha Road.

RTA widened the previously nine-lane Al Maktoum Bridge to 11 lanes. It also added one more lane to the streets leading to the bridge to handle inbound traffic from Umm Harir Street.

Source: Gulf News

More than 9,400 visa violators leave UAE

Thousands of illegal residents take advantage of the UAE's amnesty period

 

Abu Dhabi: More than 9,400 illegal residents have already availed of the UAE’s visa amnesty and left the country, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) announced in a statement on Saturday.

The visa amnesty period, which began on December 4 last year, has already seen more than 20,000 applications from illegal residents hailing from 106 countries, the statement added.

Those who have overstayed in the country should visit the nearest residency department and take advantage of the amnesty period, urged Brigadier General Dr Abdullah Ali Bin Sahoo, Director of the General Directorate for Residency and Foreign Affairs in Sharjah and head of the media committee for amnesty operations. The period is expected to end in the first week of February.

The official also called upon residents to spread awareness about the ongoing amnesty period to all illegal immigrants.

Article continues belowThe 60-day amnesty programme allows visa violators to come forward and either regularise their visas, or leave the country without penalties. In general, overstaying in the UAE after the expiry of a residence visa is fined at Dh 25 per day. To regularise visas, immigrants must pay all the daily fines accrued as a result of overstaying.

The amnesty only applies to immigrants who have overstayed their residency visas. MoI officials earlier stressed that infiltrators into the UAE will still be treated as criminals.

Illegal residents who fail to make use of this amnesty have also been warned that they will face the full force of the law.

This is the fourth amnesty which has been made available in the UAE. In 1996, about 200,000 illegal residents left the country under a six-month long amnesty. During the second amnesty which ran for four months in 2002, around 300,000 illegal immigrants left the UAE.

Nearly 342,000 illegal immigrants took advantage of the last amnesty, declared in 2007, by either legalizing their visas or choosing to leave the UAE after settling their dues.

Source: Gulf News

Shaikh Mohammad among 10 most watched world leaders on Twitter: study

 

Shaikh Mohammad gained more than one million followers in a year

  

Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is among the top 10 out of the 123 heads of state who use Twitter for citizen engagement, a new study revealed.

 

The study, World Leaders on Twitter Ranking Report, was conducted in December 2012 by the US Digital Policy Council (DPC), an international think tank group that promotes good governance and policy-making. The report analysed the social media presence, particularly on Twitter, of 123 out of the 164 world leaders.

 

“In 2012, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad gained 910,000 followers in just one year to have 1.3 million followers now. He regularly shared his thoughts, future plans, attended events and various achievements with citizens and followers,” the report read.

 

Shaikh Mohammad, who started using Twitter in 2009, had 351,817 followers in DPC’s report in 2010. This number increased to 445,725 by 2011, and has more than doubled to 1.3 million in just three years.

 

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“The fact that Shaikh Mohammad has embraced social media is very progressive. For leaders wanting to reach out to their population, which in the Middle East is predominantly young people, social media is the best platform to use,” a top official at a leading social media specialist agency in Dubai, told Gulf News.

 

“It’s a fantastic record. It’s not easy to grow your followers. For him to continually gain followers, that means people are interested, and remain interested in what he is doing. That’s a good sign of popularity,” the official added.

 

The more than 1,200 tweets of Shaikh Mohammad touch upon issues that are close to people’s worries and concerns – both UAE nationals and expatriates. Through his Twitter page, he shares his aspirations, vision, and even felicitations on different national and social occasions related to economic, social, and cultural issues.

 

Shaikh Mohammad also uses his page to inform his followers personally about his official and non-official activities, focusing on his impressions and the outputs of these activities, which is a positive thing according to Menar Media. “It [using social media] gives a leader, a popular person, much more of a human element and that is a good thing.”

 

Last year, Shaikh Mohammad’s Twitter account saw an unprecedented activities where he launched a raft of humanitarian initiatives, the latest of them was his instructions to the concerned authorities not to make any celebrations for the Accession Day on January 4.

 

“In the last two years, we highlighted key segments of the community that deserve our gratitude and attention such as orphaned children and mothers. This year, we focus on a new group: general labour employees such as gardeners, janitors, construction workers, domestic workers among others. These groups play an active role in society,” Shaikh Mohammad said when he launched the community-driven initiative through his Twitter account. He also launched the ‘’Union Tree’’ initiative through his Twitter page.

 

This year, DPC noted a tremendous growth in the number of governments embracing social media. For its first report in 2010, as many as 33 world leaders or one in five used Twitter. Two years later, the number has increased to 123 which means three out of four heads of state currently use Twitter to interact with people.

 

Based on the 2012 study, US President Barack Obama is by far the most “followed” world leader on Twitter, with 25 million followers.

 

- With additional inputs from WAM

 

 

Source: Gulf News

 

Thirteen malls to spend your DSF

A round-up of the thirteen malls across Dubai with DSF promotions to make you richer in 2013

Al Ghurair Centre

Get a coupon to the daily draw for Al Ghurair Centre shopping vouchers or weekend stays, dining for two and spa treatments at Al Ghurair Rayhaan by Rotana for every Dh200 you spend at the mall.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

BurJuman

 

Just spend Dh200 at any store and you get the chance to enter three draws. Five winners will get Dh10,000 in gift vouchers in two draws, while one winner will drive away with a new BMW X5 in the grand draw.



 

Deira City Centre

'Drop in and triple your win' with every Dh300 spent at the mall, every hour, every day until a total of Dh1.3 million is given away. You could also join the 'Make a Date' promotion and exchange a fresh receipt to enter the daily draw for prizes.

 

 

Dubai Festival City

Spend Dh150 to enter the daily draw where three winners will get Dh1,000 worth of gift vouchers. A Toyota Land Cruiser will be given away at the grand draw.

 

 

Dubai Mall

Want to own an Aston Martin Rapide this year? If you're feeling lucky, spend Dh300 to enter the grand draw for this ultra-luxury sedan.

 

 

Dubai Outlet Mall

In addition to everyday discounts of up to 90 per cent off on products, get a chance to win a Nissan Pathfinder for every Dh250 spent in the mall.

 
 

Lamcy Plaza

It's raining gold bars at Lamcy Plaza this DSF. Spend Dh200 to enter the weekly draw where two winners will get 100 grams of gold.

 

 

Mall of the Emirates

Spend Dh300 and triple your win with hourly draws throughout DSF and grab a slice of a total Dh1.3m to be given away.

 

 

Mercato Mall

One of two 2013 Toyota Rav4s will be given away during the grand draw. All you need is just a minimum purchase of Dh200 to qualify.

 

 

Mirdif City Centre

Get a chance to win thrice every day with every Dh300 spent at the mall, or win the product of the day if you make the right guess in 'Price the Prize'.

 

 

Ibn Batutta

You could win a new Nissan vehicle in the weekly draw. Purchases worth Dh200 entitles you to one raffle coupon.

 

 

Oasis Centre

For a minimum purchase of Dh200, you get a chance to play Money Mania where you could win coupons and cash prizes. One winner is picked daily.

 

 

Town Centre Jumeirah

Spend Dh200 and you could win one of two brand new 2013 Toyota Rav4s during the grand draw.

Source: Gulf News

UAE welcomes more than 25 New Year babies

A great gift from God at the beginning of the year, elated parents say

 

 

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah: The UAE has welcomed dozens of babies on the first day of the year.

 
The country’s first baby to be born this year was Jody Hussain, who was born at 12.01 am at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi. Bashar Hussain, the Syrian father of the baby girl said, “We believe that 2013 will be a lucky year for us. It has certainly started on the best note possible.”

By press deadline, in Dubai, Latifa Hospital had more than 15 deliveries scheduled, of which 10 had taken place. The Canadian Specialist Hospital saw two births whereas Aster Al Rafa Hospital reported two births. The Mediclinic City Hospital had eight births with one more expected.

 

In Abu Dhabi, the Corniche Hospital reported the births of an Iranian boy Hamad Hussain Al Jamali and Emirati baby girl (yet to be named) early in 2013 at 1.1 am and 5.53 am respectively. Six babies were delivered at the hospital since midnight.

 

In Sharjah, Al Qasimi Hospital saw the birth of a baby girl at 3.54am.

Due to the date’s uniqueness, the date was considered special by new parents. Gulf News spoke to a few.

 

Hamad’s father Hussain Al Jamali at the Corniche Hospital said he hoped his first baby would bring the family prosperity and happiness. He said, “I believe that having him at the beginning of this year is a great gift from God. We will do our best to protect and take care of him.”

The new mother Nadia added, “We were expecting the baby at the end of 2012, but I was secretly hoping for January 1. I am thankful and extremely happy with the special birth date.”

 

First-time parents Gavin and Roxanne Povo welcomed their daughter Gillian Chantelle at Latifa Hospital. The father said, “We couldn’t have had a better New Year’s gift and a better start to 2013.” The mother added, “I am on cloud nine. It’s such a lucky date. I wasn’t supposed to deliver till January 6.”

Father Vinod Philip at Aster Al Rafa Hospital said he was ecstatic with the birth of his third daughter. The date he said was special because his older daughters’ birthdays are connected. “My eldest was born on February 1 and my second on April 1. Now we have January 1. All were normal deliveries.”

 

At Al Qasimi Hospital, Hiyam’s Egyptian father Mustafa Hamid said, “I have been blessed with a healthy baby girl, and this wonderful event marks the tone of the rest of the year for me.”

 

At Oasis Hospital in Al Ain, the first baby of 2013 was a girl born at 7.12am to parents Ahmad Gareeb Al Ka’abi and Shaikha Hamad Mohammad Al Ka’abi.

 

Source: Gulf News

Amnesty Advisory No. 4

Paalala. Mangyaring basahin ang mga naunang paalaala tungkol sa Amnesty Program.

27 December 2012 (source)

• Walang extension ang amnesty program. Ito ay matatapos sa 4 February 2013 at hindi na madadagdagan pa ng araw.
• Ang lahat ng may absconding at overstaying na at hindi nag avail ng amnesty sa anumang kadahilan ay ituturing na illegal. Kapag nahuli o napag-alaman matapos ang amnesty sa 4 February, ay lilitisin ng naaayon sa batas at pagbabayarin ng kaukulang multa.
• Walang exception o sisinuhin ang amnesty program. Wala rin itong sisinuhin o exception sa paglalapat ng kaparusahan para sa hindi mag-avail nito.

Source: www.pcgdubai.net

 

General Secretariat of the Office of H.H.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior
security media
(Tuesday, 25th December, 2012)

Asserted that no extension to the amnesty
Mol: Illegal Residents Who Are Found after February 4, Are Violators and Prosecutable

The Ministry of Interior has stressed that illegal residents who get caught after the 4th of February are violators and subject to legal prosecution and the consequent fines, as per the law. The ministry also reiterated that there would be no exceptions or extension to the amnesty granted to the illegal residents in the country.

"The ministry is treating amnesty seekers in a humanitarian way and facilitating procedures for them to leave the country voluntarily", said Brigadier Saeed Rakan Al Rashedi, Director General of Naturalization at the Naturalization, Residency and Ports Affairs in the Ministry of Interior, Deputy Chairman of the Follow-up Committee on Illegals.

He asserted that all facilities for processing the issues related to amnesty seekers are available at all the centers that were established for particularly for this purpose across the country. Urging illegals not to wait till the last minute, he pointed out that there is turnout at the part of illegal residents who visit the centers to avail of the amnesty and leave the country.

Brigadier Al Rashedi has recently inspected the work progress and the procedures of processing amnesty seekers applications at the illegals reception center in the Emirates Identity building in Musaffah in Abu Dhabi.

The inspection was attended by Colonel Salem Ali Al Qattam Al Za'abi, Director General of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs in Abu Dhabi; Colonel Khalifa Matar Balquba', Director of the Residency and Foreigners' Affairs Department in Al Ain; Colonel Saeed Salem Al Shamsi, Director of Information and Follow-up Department in "Abu Dhabi Residency"; and Lt. Colonel Matar Kherbash, Director of the Electronic Services Department; along with a number of officers.

Brigadier Al Rashedi made a tour inside the center, during which he was briefed about the appliances and equipment used in processing the amnesty seekers applications. He listened to a briefing from Colonel Salem Al Za'abi about the work progress at the center, the procedures of receiving amnesty seekers, the time duration of the process and the obstacles and disadvantages that might occur, and working on putting an end to them and finding the suitable solutions to enable illegals to leave the country.

Brigadier Al Rashedi appreciated the cooperation between the General Department of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs in Abu Dhabi, EMASS for Security Solutions, and Emirates Identity center for providing all the services and facilities for the seekers of the amnesty that continues for two months, from December 4th till February 4th, 2013.

Photo: "from the source"

Brigadier Al Rashedi during the visit

 

Amnesty Advisory No. 3

Karagdagang Impormasyon sa mga Nagnanais kumuha ng Amnesty (alinsunod sa mga bagong nakalap na datos at mga katanungang tinanggap)

• Sa Dubai Al Aweer, Linggo hanggang Miyerkules (Sun-Wed) 8am-8pm ang opisina. Ito ay para lamang sa mga lalaki (males) na nag-a-apply ng amnesty.
• Ang mga babae (females) naman ay sa araw ng Linggo (Sunday) hanggang Huwebes (Thursday), 8am-8pm.

Source: www.pcgdubai.net

 

 

Amnesty Advisory No. 2

Karagdagang Impormasyon sa mga nagnanais kumuha ng Amnesty (alinsunod sa mga bagong nakalap na datos at mga katanungang tinanggap)

1.    Ang mga may absconding case ay kasama sa programang amnesty. Walang kinalaman kung bago o matagal ng absconding.

2.    Kung may ibang kompanya na magbibigay ng visa, kinakailangang bayaran ang lahat ng penalty bago makakuha ng bagong visa.

3.    Ang mga bata (mga anak) na may maayos na Birth Certificates ay maaari ng i-apply ng amnesty.

4.    Ang mga bata (mga anak) na walang maayos na dokumento tulad ng Birth Certificate ay dadaan sa imbestigasyon.

5.    Ang mga tickets ay kailangang patungo sa Pilipinas bilang destination country at hindi sa ibang destinasyon.

6.    Sa Dubai Al Aweer, Linggo hanggang Miyerkules (Sun-Wed) 8am-8pm ang opisina. Ito ay para lamang sa mga lalaki (males) na nag-a-apply ng amnesty. Ang mga babae (females) naman ay sa araw lamang ng Huwebes (Thursday), 8am-8pm.

7.    Kung maayos ang mga papeles at walang criminal case/ police case/ or court case, ang out pass ay makukuha rin sa araw mismo kung kelan nag-apply nito.

8.    Kapag nakakuha na ng out pass, magpalipas muna ng sampung araw (1o days) bago umalis ngunit hindi dapat lalampas sa expiration date ng nasabing out pass. Huwag subuking umalis kung hindi pa lumipas ang sampung araw at maaaring pigilan sa airport. Halimbawa, kung 11 December nakuha ang out pass, maaari ng umalis mula 22 December ngunit hindi maaari mula 12-21 ng December.

 

Amnesty Advisory No. 1

Ang lahat ng mga Filipino sa Dubai and N. Emirates na maaaring makinabang sa programang Amnesty na ipinagkaloob ng United Arab Emirates ay inaanyayahang tanggapin ang kapakinabangang ito.

 

ANO:

 

Amnesty/ Libre o walang kaukulang bayad na penalty para sa mga illegal na Filipino na nasa Dubai and N. Emirates. Ang mga tatanggap ng amnesty ay kinakailangang bumalik sa Pilipinas.

 

PARA KANINO:

 

Mga Pilipino na naririto sa Dubai at N. Emirates na hindi nagtataglay ng kahit anong visa/walang bisa (non-visa holder), visa na matagal ng paso (long expired visa). Hindi kasama ang mga Pilipino na may pending criminal case.

 

KAILAN:

 

4 December 2012- 3 February 2013 (60 days)

 

PAANO:

1.    Magtungo sa Consulate General of the Philippines sa Al Qusais upang masiguro na ang inyong pasaporte at Travel Document ay valid at maayos. Kung wala kayong pasaporte/ Travel Document, higit na dapat na magtungo sa Consulate General.

2.    Ayon sa balita, mainam rin na may dala ng valid travel ticket pauwi ng Pilipinas. Ito kasama ng inyong valid na pasaporte/ Travel Document ang inyong kailangang dalhin sa Residency Department kung saan ang inyong visa ay ipinagkaloob (where visa was originally issued).

3.    Magtungo sa Residency Department ng kaukulang Emirate

·            Dubai – Al Aweer

·            Sharjah – General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs

·            Khor Fakkan – The Office of Naturalization and Residency

·            RAK- General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Al Hamra Island

·            Ajman – General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs

·         Umm Al Quwain – General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs

·            Fujairah – General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs

1.    Ang General Directorate for Residency and Foreigners Affairs ay magsasagawa ng proseso para sa inyong pag-uwi sa Pilipinas. Ito ay maaaring kasama ng iris scan at finger prints upang matiyak na walang pending criminal case laban sa inyo.

2.    Ayon din sa balita, ang mga nagnais na ipagpatuloy ang pagtatrabaho dito sa UAE, kinakailangang bayaran ang buong penalty o fine para maka apply ng malinis na visa.

Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, tumawag sa 800 5111.

 

Source: www.pcgdubai.net

Burj Khalifa 2013 fireworks over, but Dubai set to witness celestial fireworks display

 

If you happen to miss the amazing Burj Khalifa fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, you can start 2013 off right with another light show – the Quadrantid meteor shower.

The annual Quadrantid meteor shower throws up about 40 meteors per hour, usually on January 3 and 4, but it may be visible from January 1 up until January 5.

Which means that Quadrantids are zipping overhead as you read this – have been doing so since Tuesday, actually, and will do so until Sunday – but the peak of the shower is expected very early on Thursday, just before dawn.

According to US space agency Nasa, the Quadrantids is a little-known meteor shower named after an extinct constellation, and will present an excellent chance for hardy souls to start the year off with some late-night meteor watching.

In Dubai and the rest of the UAE, they are expected to peak in the wee morning hours of January 3. This shower can be as spectacular as the Perseids or the Geminids, but the Quadrantids’ peak intensity will be short – just a few hours, unlike the Geminids in December, which peaked for a couple of days.

According to the Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG), the highest rate of Quadrantids meteors per hour was witnessed in 1932 (80 per hour). In addition, the DAG advises that the best time for observations is a dark place after midnight. It is best to trek out to an area away from bright lights in the wee hours of January 4.

For us in Dubai, the shower peaks on Thursday, January 3, 2013. This event occurs when earth passes through a narrow stream of debris from a comet thought to have broken apart some 500 years ago.

The shower is expected to be strong but elusive, with a peak that lasts no longer than a couple of hours. The shower’s radiant near Polaris favors observers in the northern hemisphere.

Meteors radiate from the constellation Bootes, close to the North Star. Unfortunately, light from a waning gibbous moon will wash out many Quadrantids, cutting down on the number of meteors seen by skywatchers.

Since we are in the Northern Hemisphere, we should consider ourselves privileged inasmuch that we’ll get a much better view of the Quadrantids than our peers in the Sothern Hemisphere, who might have to contend with Nasa’s live streaming of the celestial show.

The source of this meteor shower was unknown until December 2003 when Peter Jenniskens of the Ames Research Center (Nasa) found evidence that meteoroids come from 2003 EH1 , an ‘asteroid’, which is probably a piece of a comet which collapsed 500 years ago.

“Unlike the more famous Perseid and Geminid meteor showers, the Quadrantids only last a few hours, so it’s the morning of January 3 or nothing,” says Nasa.

Like the Geminids, the Quadrantids originate from an asteroid, called 2003 EH1. Dynamical studies suggest that this body could very well be a piece of a comet which broke apart several centuries ago, and that the meteors you will see before dawn on January 3 are the small debris from this fragmentation.

After hundreds of years orbiting the sun, they will enter our atmosphere at 90,000 mph, burning up 50 miles above Earth's surface – a fiery end to a long journey!

 

Source: Emirates 24/7

 

Security cheques cannot be used to arrest defaulters

The UAE no longer considers a bounced cheque as a criminal offence

Abu Dhabi: Dishonoured security cheques can no longer be used to arrest defaulters and convict them, in keeping with a decree by the President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior official said on Tuesday.
 

“The President’s instructions were that all defaulters including citizens and foreigners arrested or convicted for presenting dishonoured security cheques must be freed, any related cases being heard be suspended and any penalties handed down to these defaulters be annulled,” Jassem Saif Bu Asseeba, head of the Judicial Inspection Department at the Ministry of Justice, told Gulf News.
 

Bu Asseeba stressed that this ruling only covers security or collateral cheques for the total amount of a loan, commodity or job which lenders require borrowers or contractors ask clients to sign and that other cheques submitted towards fixed-term payments can still be used to file a criminal case if they are dishonoured.
 

Bu Asseeba added the police, prosecution and courts immediately enforced Shaikh Khalifa’s orders since November. “Judicial and law enforcement authorities have stopped accepting bounce security cheques as a criminal tool against debt defaulters,” he said.
 

Bu Asseeba, however, clarified that the move does not mean the rights of lenders are compromised as “they are still entitled to file cases with the civil courts to claim dues. Banks, financial firms and other lenders still have the right to present these security cheques to prove they are owed money by debtors.”
 

According to official statistics issued by the UAE Central Bank, out of 28.5 million cheques worth Dh1.2 trillion written in 2011 across the UAE, 1.6 million cheques worth about Dh55 billion were dishonoured.

 

 

On average, one out of every 20 cheques written in 2011 was sent back by a bank marked “Refer to Drawer” or “Insufficient Funds”.
 

Although the Central Bank advises that issuing a blank cheque to banks as a surety for a credit card or a loan is illegal and violates the personal loans system in the UAE, banks are still demanding these security cheques.

 

 

Legal experts said making security cheques not enough to arrest defaulters and convict them partially allays fears of clients of banks and financial firms.

 

 

An expert suggested that banks and other financial firms be stopped from demanding these security cheques in the first place and if other cheques are dishonoured creditors be demanded to recourse to civil courts or normal insolvency procedures rather than resorting to a speedier course — filing a criminal complaint for a bad cheque.

 

 

Experts suggested there should be other legal courses for bad cheques such as withholding the passport of a defaulter, rescheduling the loan payments and granting the defaulters sometime to clear the issue.

 

 

Article 401 of the UAE Penal Code states: “Any person who writes a cheque with insufficient funds — causing it to be dishonoured — can face a jail term of one month to three years, or a fine of a minimum of Dh1,000.”

 

Source: Gulf News