Briton to be extradited from Thailand to UAE in two weeks

BANGKOK // A British man arrested in Thailand in connection with the embezzlement of US$2 million (Dh7.3m) from a Dubai-based property company is expected to be extradited to the UAE within two weeks. Michael Bryan Smith, 43, was arrested in a Bangkok stakeout last week after nearly a year since leaving the UAE. He is now likely to be returned to the UAE to face charges of forgery, betrayal of trust and the illegal possession of public funds.

The charges relate to $2m missing from a company he worked for in Dubai, according to Dubai Police. The amount was previously reported to be as much as $150m. Mr Smith is accused of transferring workers' salaries into his own account while working as a personnel manager in a property company in Bur Dubai between March and May of last year, according to the UAE arrest warrant. Police did not identify the company. Mr Smith denies the charges, according to Thai police.

He appeared in a criminal court last Thursday and was remanded into custody for 60 days pending an extradition hearing. He was refused bail because he was regarded as a potential flight risk, said the police chief in charge of his arrest, Lt Col Pirom Chantrapirom. A man in the Thai attorney general's office who identified himself only as Mr Poonpel, and who is in charge of the case, said he expected Mr Smith to be returned to the UAE within two weeks.

"The papers have been finalised and we are now waiting for the correct documentation from the Dubai authorities," he said. Mr Smith was arrested last Wednesday in a bar in Nana, a Bangkok red-light districts. UAE authorities tipped off Thai police that he was likely to visit the Big Dog bar, which was known to be one of his regular haunts. According to the police officer in charge of the arrest, Thai detectives had been staking out the location for several days before he turned up. They acted on information provided by UAE authorities, and identified him using a copy of his passport, the officer said. He did not resist arrest, police on the scene said.

Mr Smith had left the UAE after the alleged crime, and police had been looking for him for several months before investigators traced him to Bangkok and alerted the authorities there, a senior police official in Dubai told reporters on Monday. "After learning that he escaped to Bangkok, a request for his arrest and extradition was placed through the Ministry of Interior on May 4. He is wanted on charges of forgery, betrayal of trust and the illegal possession of public funds for the amount of $2 million," the official said.

Although there is no extradition treaty between the UAE and Thailand, it is not unusual for suspects to be extradited after a diplomatic request, sources in Thailand's judiciary said. Thai courts have authority to decide on extradition. Mr Smith has retained a lawyer, according to court officials, and is expected to fight the extradition order. Since he left Dubai, Mr Smith has travelled extensively, visiting Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand, Thai police say. He is married to a Thai woman and arrived in Thailand in April to join her.

Mr Smith travelled around South East Asia for several years before he took the job in Dubai, according to a friend who also said Mr Smith was looking for work in the hotel business. He had recently been to China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam for job interviews, the man said. @Email:ljagan@thenational.ae

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Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases

A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.

One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.

In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.

The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.

And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.

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Tips to keep your car cool

Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
Park in shaded or covered areas
Add tint to windows
Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

Prophets of Rage

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