The UAE strictly prohibits begging and unauthorised fundraising in any form. These activities tend to proliferate during Ramadan, as offenders attempt to take advantage of residents’s generosity during the holy month. To counter this, authorities have issued fresh warnings over the past month, with the UAE Public Prosecution shedding light on the various penalties.

According to the UAE Penal Code, penalties apply for individual begging, organised begging and even unauthorised fundraising. “Begging is an uncivilised act. Let’s help each other to eliminate begging, and help [the deserving through authorised channels],” the Public Prosecution said.

Residents are instead encourage to donate funds and in-kind items through authorised channels, which ensure donors’ safety and privacy while also ensuring that the donations reach the needy. The least serious of offences involve individual begging activity. Yet, this too includes a jail sentence for offenders. “Whoever commits the crime of begging by soliciting a material benefit in kind, of any form or by any means, shall be sentenced to a duration of not more than three months, and fined a monetary penalty of mnot less than Dh5,000,” the UAE Public Prosecution has said.

 “Whoever manages the crime of organised begging that is committed by an organised group of two or more persons shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a duration of not less than six months, and fined a monetary penalty of not less than Dh100,000,” the Public Prosecution said on its social media platforms.

“The same penalty shall apply against whoever outsources persons to the UAE for using them in the crime of organised begging,” it added. The penalties are outlined in UAE Penal Code’s Article 476 of the same law. The law also imposes the Dh5,000 fine, and a possible jail sentence, for individuals participating in organised begging.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP