DUBAI // A 64-year-old teacher was fined for selling unlicensed oils that she says helps with slimming after the Ministry of Health spotted her adverts online.
Syrian AM, as well as her son, MM, 24, and an Emirati woman, EA, 36, were charged with manufacturing and selling unlicensed mixtures of the oils after the ministry saw her posts on Instagram advertising natural oils used for slimming.
Dubai Court of Misdemeanours heard that the ministry contacted Dubai Police in May last year, after which AM and the two others were arrested and interrogated.
The Emirati woman told prosecutors that she had been arrested at her house and that she denied doing anything illegal.
The Syrian teacher, however, whose heath condition prevented police from questioning her at the time, confessed to preparing the oils and said she had been working on getting a licence.
“I have been making these oils but the sons of my neighbours were helping me, posting them online,” she said in records.
She said EA was also helping her preparing the mixtures and making a profit because she had been repaying a loan of Dh1 million to the bank.
The teacher told of how she started making the oils for female family members but, when they paid off and their results were good, more women knew about them and started requesting some of the oils and, after a while, the idea for advertising came up.
Prosecutors said that the defendants first used the BlackBerry messenger to advertise the products.
Police said that the son was arrested in a sting operation after a police source contacted him requesting to buy Dh2,550 worth of oils.
He told police that his mother and himself prepared the products while the Emirati woman was the one responsible for advertising and selling. His mother was arrested shortly afterwards.
EA denied police accusations and said she met AM and agreed with her to get a licence for the products but that she did not take part in any advertising or selling.
“We met two months before the arrest and I tried the products myself. If she started selling before I managed to get the licence, then I didn’t know of that,” she said.
The court convicted all three of them and fined each Dh5,000, saying that they had been posing a danger to the health of people who bought from them.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
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Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
