The Government of UAE has made a ground-breaking amendment by penalizing the offense of organized begging in the country. This new step aims to deter people from committing a crime in disguise as beggars, and also earn a stable earning through other legit means.
We often encounter a lot of people roaming around and seeking our help. Many a time, we offer to help them monetarily or any other suitable form owing to our courtesy and good heart. However, on the pretext of help, we overlooked the fact that this money might be used in some illegal work or these beggars may indulge in committing an offense collectively.
In this article, we will discuss the crime of organized begging in UAE along with its punishment with the help of our best criminal lawyers of Dubai.
Organized begging – An offense
In the words of our top criminal lawyers of UAE, organized begging refers to that practice wherein a group of 2 or more people asks for monetary help at public places. As per Article 476 of Federal Law No. (31) of 2021 (UAE Law of Crime and Penalties), organized begging is not legally permissible. The offenders will be subject to a minimum imprisonment period of 6 months and a fine of AED 100,000 or both.
Our best criminal lawyers of Dubai have suggested that the person who brings people in the state for begging will be subject to the same penalty as discussed above. There are threefold objectives behind penalizing the offense of begging, which are as follows-
- To prevent crimes in disguise of begging;
- To protect and improve the global image of UAE;
- To encourage employment opportunities.
From the last few years, UAE has adopted a stringent approach to curb begging in the country. As per Federal Law No. (9) of 2018 (UAE Anti-begging Law), begging is an offense inviting imprisonment of 3 months and a fine of AED 5,000 or both. It further states that whoever recruits people from other countries to work as beggars will also face imprisonment of 6 months and a minimum fine of AED 100,000
As suggested by our top criminal lawyers of UAE, the public prosecution is vested with discretionary powers relating to beggars. The public prosecution can refer a beggar to the Ministry of Community Development or local authority to work for social welfare instead of facing the wrath in the prison.
Conclusion
In UAE, individual begging and organized begging both constitute a penal offense and strict punishments are provided for the same. If you found a beggar somewhere, you can report it to the police officials of the respective Emirates.
BSB legal is a specialized law firm of the UAE in criminal law. Our best lawyers will assist you in the mainland and the free zones. To know more information, kindly contact one of our best lawyers in UAE. You can email us at info@bsb.legal or call +971 5 016 05046