Passport control officers have jail term doubled

DUBAI // Two passport control officers locked up for helping illegal residents leave the country without being arrested have had their six-month jail terms doubled by the Dubai Court of Appeal.

Emiratis KA, 31, and MS, 30, were both convicted of forging and using forged documents on the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD) system to clear the exit fees for more than 1,000 people who overstayed their visas.

The Dubai Criminal Court sentenced KA and MS to six months in jail each and fined them both Dh50,000. They appealed the verdict but lost, and their terms were increased to a year each. The court upheld the fine.

The incidents took place between 2008 and December 2012. The men worked at passport control in arrivals at Dubai International Airport. When one was not present the other would carry out the forgeries and log into the system then save the new forged data.

KK, 25, Emirati, testified that he had worked with KA and MS since 2011 and that he found out about the incidents when both men were summed to an internal investigation at the end of 2012.

“I was also questioned about my work then I was told that all the forgeries were made using the account and password of KA,” said KK in records.

He added that MS was not a passport control officer but in 2012 he applied to become one.

“Which means that he had learned somehow the nature of work. He also often complained about his financial conditions and once told me he sold his car to pay for some expenses, but lately I noticed he flew to Thailand and when he returned he went on a visit to Oman then bought two iPhones, which made me wonder,” added KK.

However, records did not mention a charge of accepting any money for making the forgeries.

Prosecutors said KA and MS helped clear the fees of 1,119 visitors to the country most of who were Asians, mainly Pakistanis.

Prosecutors attached a list of the names of every person who was assisted by KA and MS. They also attached a number of documents proving that the account and password of KA were used to log into the system and make forgeries even while KA was on leave.