UAE cops pay blood money for overstaying Pinoy inmate's freedom

Cops in the United Arab Emirates pooled their resources together to help a Filipino inmate who completed his prison term in a United Arab Emirates (UAE) jail in 2009 but could not get out because of unpaid blood money amounting to 200,000 Dirhams (P2.337 million). Dubai police commander-in-chief Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim ordered payment of the Dh200,000 blood money for Joseph Abutan, 37. Khalfan ordered the Human Service Department of the police to hand over the blood money to the Dubai Courts, according to a report on Khaleej Times. Abutan was jailed for causing the death of his wife Imelda in a traffic accident. He completed his jail term on December 12, 2009. However, he could not be released because his wife's family refused to pardon him and insisted that he pay blood money. Humaid Al Swaidi, Director of the Dubai Central Jail, praised Khalfan and the police for helping Abutan. Donations Various departments, organizations and individuals send donations to the police’s Human Service Department to help prisoners who cannot pay blood money or buy tickets to return home. Part of the donations is also used to help the families of prisoners So far, donations to the police has reached Dh1 million (P11.686 million). Pinoy's sister thanks cops A separate report on Gulf News said Abutan's elder sister Marivic Abutan-Almojera, who lives in the Philippines, expressed "extreme gratitude" to the Dubai police for helping her brother. "I can't thank him [Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief] enough for this life-changing move that he made for my brother," said Almojera in an interview on Gulf News XPress. "This totally unexpected gesture from the [Dubai] authorities is very heart-warming Almojera said. Abutan, who worked for a private company in Dubai, was the fourth child in a brood of seven, the report said. "Until now, we did not know what to do. My brother was alone in Dubai with no one to help him," Almojera said. The Gulf News story said Abutan has expressed remorse and converted to Islam while in jail. He is now known as Abdullah. "I don't blame my in-laws if they are upset about what happened. I didn't want it to happen. It was an accident," he said. - VVP, GMA News