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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -cell.html

How true is this? If what he says is true (a bounced cheque made him end up in jail), I'd be totally shocked.

That's been posted before Bruce, on Herve's topic.

brucebanner wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/8149093/Safi-Qurashis-open-letter-from-Dubai-jail-cell.html

How true is this? If what he says is true (a bounced cheque made him end up in jail), I'd be totally shocked.

As BM said, it's been discussed. But yes, a bounced check, even for 100 AED can land you in jail.

brucebanner wrote:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/8149093/Safi-Qurashis-open-letter-from-Dubai-jail-cell.html

How true is this? If what he says is true (a bounced cheque made him end up in jail), I'd be totally shocked.

Yes unfortunately it is, a bounced check is a criminal offence. They will ask you two questions and two questions only. What is your name and is this your signature thats it and you end up behind bars. And what is described in his letter is not unheard of either i.e: the way your treated, the way courts and the penal system works or doesn't in most cases.

People have landed in jail, got deported or both just for cutting someone in traffic or a simple thing like flipping the bird. Just today there is a case in the papers of this UN official getting deported for the middle finger. Since he was from the UN they spared him the jail sentence...how thoughtfull.

I can cite a case from personal experience of a taxi driver in jail for 30 days...for farting in his cab!



Knight

Dubai Knight wrote:I can cite a case from personal experience of a taxi driver in jail for 30 days...for farting in his cab!



Knight

I can understand that, what was the charge? carrying a weapon? deadly nerv gas

Local lady complained!



Knight

Dubai Knight wrote:I can cite a case from personal experience of a taxi driver in jail for 30 days...for farting in his cab!



Knight

when you said personal experience I thought you might have been in the cab with him...

anyway its ridiculous - how do you file evidence of that in a case

JoeTGF wrote:

Dubai Knight wrote:I can cite a case from personal experience of a taxi driver in jail for 30 days...for farting in his cab!



Knight

when you said personal experience I thought you might have been in the cab with him...

anyway its ridiculous - how do you file evidence of that in a case

Since when does a local need to provide evidence?? Unless, of course, she made the police smell the driver's seat. YUCK!!!

Law of the land says your guilty until proven innocent, and even then we really don't care.

E GADS !!!

Sadly we have a few mates that have ended up in the clink for minor things. Their experiences have not been good.

Chocoholic wrote:Sadly we have a few mates that have ended up in the clink for minor things. Their experiences have not been good.

WOW - in fairness I thought it was all a bit exagerated in the international press as I don't anyone personally that has gone down for stupid/minor things. Bit worrying.

Anybody who has been here for a decent lenght of time knows about such cases, usually more than one.

desertdudeshj wrote:Law of the land says your guilty until proven innocent, and even then we really don't care.

Spoken like a true local.

Here is a fun website to see how nasty it really is

http://almerimarlife.com/ex-pats-jailed ... -page-5#tb

blocked by du.

desertdudeshj wrote:Here is a fun website to see how nasty it really is

http://almerimarlife.com/ex-pats-jailed ... -page-5#tb

This bounced cheque business is very worrying and horrific to say the least.

1. Do landlords accept cash upfront? I think, I'd gladly pay the rent up-front, unless they change the law, to avoid this situation.
2. Is it possible to totally avoid using cheques? Can one still get imprisoned by other means? What happens when you lose your job and can't make mortgage payments and hence default. Are you imprisoned in such cases?
3. Any notable good cases out there worth reading about? I want to listen to the other side of the stories.

Yeah DU is weird. I was looking at the site it was not blocked, when I refreshed the page it was blocked ! Then Today I tried again it was not blocked again just to check refresed. Got blocked ???? Maybe somekind of software they are using that looks for keywords ?? I dunno. But this is not the first time that has happened. A site will open and then when to click to go to another page or read further on. It gets blocked then you can get back aswell it gets blocked aswell. Really strange ?

For BBanner. Land lords will accept cash, but in that case if you find a better deal or want to move out early. Very less chaces of getting your money back for time left.

2. In this country if your going to be banking. i.e taking out loans or credit cards, over draft then there is no way. If it just an simple account then yes. If you have mortage payments and you loose your job...then tough luck. 100's of thousands are in the slammer or on the run for the exact same reason. Banks don't care and almost 90% of the cases your bank freezes your accounts. Even if you have the money to settle you do not have access to money. One you stuck with one thing then it just snowballs from there. You don't have a job, accounts frozen. Then everybody else after 3 months also start bouncing your cheques. The CCard bank. Your car loan cheques, Your personal loans cheques. So for a simple amount of even 5 or 10 thousand. You end up in an endless cycle and burden of prison and debt. It is not unheard of for someone to finish one term and day of release to go back in again for anothe case which was soley brought on because of the first meaning if you were out you could have easily made those payments but once your in then it just grows. Many employers will drop you like a hot potatoe at the first sign of legal trouble. I.e now even if you goy a 1 month prison term for one cheque and your out. Now you don't have a visa or work. Now the creditors will start cashing in those cheques and the cycle repeats. Thats why many choose to leave as they know once caught up in this avalanche your royaly screwed. And then your trouble don't end there.

You 1st went to prison not for the amount of money owned but for a criminal offense of writing a bad cheque. Then the bank if desperate and evil enough can file a civil case against you to get the money you owe them. Although this happens rarely as it long and lenghty procedures taking years to finish. But if the amount is big and bank desperate enough it could happen. And usually the court sides with you rather than the bank on this one.

Read the link I gave you. It has over 150 real cases/stories of these bounced cheques etc etc. Even cases like one man lent I think 2 million for a bussiness deal with 5% intrest and the partner refused to pay so the guy bounced his cheque and his partner caught. The partner put down 1 million in bail and then sued him for RIBAA ( Usury ) which is illegal in the sharia court here and he was arrrested instead and his 2 million case thrown out of the court !

Another one where the bank did not have any security cheques to bounce but an over draft facilty. so they will they falsely bounced one of his cheques and filed a criminal case against him. This is how the law works here and how the banks operate here

Check this out aswell

http://www.7days.ae/storydetails.php?id=97874&title=

As how a banks tells a debtor to postitue herself to get money to pay her installment !

And you want to come here willingly !

Well after he gathers up his info (which should take another month or two?) he probably won't.

Bruce, baby, from now on use Google as your source for info. Enough horror stories can be found to put you off to coming to Dubai. You are getting, oh what's the word...................oh, yeah........tiresome!!!!