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

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