Woman charged over fake passport
A woman deportee, who dressed in men's clothing and re-entered Dubai on a small boat, has been accused of using a forged passport to make a hotel booking
Dubai: A woman deportee, who dressed in men's clothing and re-entered Dubai on a small boat, has been accused of using a forged passport to make a hotel booking.
The 30-year-old Indian woman, P.B., was deported from the UAE for her involvement in a prostitution case in 2010 and she re-entered Dubai illegally last year and stayed without documents, Gulf News learned yesterday.
Prosecution records said she had been staying illegally in the country before the police arrested her in September 2011.
"Police earlier busted me in a prostitution case and I got deported. When I wanted to come back to Dubai, I dressed myself in men's outfit and came here on a boat illegally. I stayed for a period before I was arrested again," P.B. told a special court hearing held to extend her provisional detention.
Pink prison wear
When she appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday, P.B. pleaded not guilty and refuted the forgery accusations.
According to the arraignment sheet, P.B. and another suspect, who has yet to be found, forged a passport by replacing her photo with that of the passport's original holder. She was additionally charged with using the forged passport.
Wearing pink-coloured prison dress, P.B. told Presiding Judge Al Saeed Mohammad Barghout yesterday: "I was not aware that the passport was forged. A person whom I regarded as a friend provided me with the passport and 30 minutes later he reported the police… I was busted." Presiding Judge Barghout will give his verdict on February 7.
