DUBAI // A worker used social media and posed as a female to get a woman’s phone number from her brother and then pretended to be a male school friend of hers before threatening to defame her if she did not have sex with him, Dubai Criminal Court has heard.
The 20-year-old Pakistani defendant and two compatriots, aged 20 and 33, were not present in court to enter pleas against charges of issuing threats and abusing telecommunications.
The sister, a 22-year-old Pakistani university student, told prosecutors that in May last year she received a message on WhatsApp from an old school friend who told her that he was sending her a message from his new number.
Shortly afterwards, she figured out that the man was not her friend.
“I called that friend of mine on his number and he answered and denied getting a new number at all,” said the woman.
She stopped replying to the defendant’s messages, after which he allegedly sent her threatening messages that he would defame her if she did not had a relationship with him and his two friends.
“He threatened to tell my family that I had a very dirty past and he would post altered pictures of me on social media,” said the woman, adding that she would receive more than 100 messages and 20 calls per day from the defendant.
On August 14 last year, the defendant allegedly threatened to burn down her house and car if she did not do what he wanted, at which point she went to Al Riffa police station and reported him.
Two men were apprehended but one remains at large.
The next hearing will be on January 29.
salamir@thenational.ae
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
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• For more information visit the library network's website.
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Sharad Nair recommends three investment apps for UAE residents:
- For beginners or people who want to start investing with limited capital, Mr Nair suggests eToro. “The low fees and low minimum balance requirements make the platform more accessible,” he says. “The user interface is straightforward to understand and operate, while its social element may help ease beginners into the idea of investing money by looking to a virtual community.”
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Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
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Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
ALRAWABI SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
Creator: Tima Shomali
Starring: Tara Abboud, Kira Yaghnam, Tara Atalla
Rating: 4/5
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
