Fujairah residents cautioned against bogus beggars

FUJAIRAH // Residents have been warned not to give to beggars this Ramadan - by people who were duped by bogus stories.

With many Muslims embracing the holy month’s spirit of giving by doing Zakat this month, residents who gave money to storytelling beggars and police have told people to be sensible when it comes to charity.

Ramadan often means an increase in people begging outside mosques, shops and even in some residential areas.

“I had two incidents since the beginning of Ramadan. I was going to buy some things from a local supermarket near my residential area in Al Ghurfa and that’s when suddenly a man stepped out of a car asking me to buy him some things from the supermarket as he didn’t have any money,” said Mohammed Ragab, 33-year-old Egyptian who lives in Fujairah.

“He started to talk about his family and that they don’t have anything to eat for iftar and how he is struggling to find a job to support them.

“I believed him and decided to buy him some groceries and that’s when the worker at the supermarket told me that he is a liar and that he requested the same from many others who had helped him already.”

Mr Ragab has since decided not to help any beggar from now on. “I totally believed in what he said but that was a lesson to learnt for me,” he said.

Another resident said that her husband gave money to a man who said that his car is out of petrol, a common ruse in the UAE.

“We were in the car in front of the fruit and vegetable market waiting for my husband when I saw him talking to a man sitting in a fancy car and, when I asked him what he wanted, he replied that the guy requested some money to fill his tank so he could go back home,” said Shorooq Al Baloushi, a 37-year-old Emirati from Fujairah.

“It was obvious that he was a liar but I think my husband got embarrassed and gave him the money.”

Fujairah Police’s Criminal Investigation Department has formed a team that includes specially trained female officers to combat begging during the holy month.

“Beggars spread in huge numbers during Ramadan and our goal is to fight this phenomenon by increasing the number of police patrols around mosques, banks and residential areas,” said Colonel Mohammed Al Shaer, director of Fujairah CID.

Col Al Shaer urged the public to refrain from sympathising with beggars and report any cases to authorities by calling 092224411 or 092051100.