UAE court upholds jail term to swindler who victimized Pinoys

A United Arab Emirates court upheld a one-year jail term imposed on a Pakistani national who swindled Filipino jobseekers by promising them jobs in government offices there. UAE news site Khaleej Times reported the UAE Court of Appeals also ordered the Pakistani’s deportation once he serves his jail term. The report identified neither the convict nor his victims. The Court of First Instance had found the 32-year-old Pakistani guilty and sentenced him to one-year imprisonment, followed by deportation, on December 20 last year. Court records showed the Pakistani posed as a police officer and promised at least three Filipinos jobs at the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs at the Dubai International Airport. He showed the Filipinos a fake ID card, and convinced the three Filipinos that he was a police officer at the Criminal Investigation Department and made them pay him for helping in the procedures for their hiring. The Pakistani was charged with fraud, impersonating a police officer and forgery. He was also accused of staying illegally in the country with an expired visa. A Filipino waiter told the police that his friend paid the Pakistani nearly Dh2,000 (P25,137) as he promised her a job at the Passport Section of the Dubai International Airport. “I met the Pakistani later and he introduced himself to me as an Emirati CID police officer. He then offered me a job at the airport and asked for Dh3,240 (P40,722)," the waiter alleged. The waiter gave the Pakistani the amount and got an acknowledgement receipt from him. “He asked for my personal documents but kept on delaying the hiring until the day he asked for an extra Dh1,050 (P13,197) as fees for finalizing the procedures of appointment," the waiter added. The waiter became suspicious and told the Pakistani defendant that he did not want the job anymore and that he wanted his money back but the Pakistani tried to find excuses. The Filipino lodged a complaint against him at the Rashidiya police station. His 29-year-old jobless friend told the police that she met the Pakistani who pretended he was an Emirati CID officer and promised to get her a job at the airport. “He asked for Dh1,940 (P24,383) in fees for paper work and translation of documents. He also claimed he would need money for the bank guarantee of employment visa," the Filipina claimed. Their friend, a 30-year-old Filipina visitor, was also fooled by the defendant’s promises and she was made to pay him Dh1,500 (P18,853). The women also reported the Pakistani to the Rashidiya police station. Police arrested him as he met the waiter in Rigga to collect money from him on July 29 last year. - KBK, GMANews.TV