Bangladesh to investigate arrest of citizens

Abu Dhabi: The Embassy of Bangladesh will enquire into the case of 60 Bangladeshi nationals who were arrested last Monday by Abu Dhabi police on charges of residing in the country illegally, officials told Gulf News yesterday.

Earlier this week, the police announced that all 60 illegal residents were arrested after they raided a six-storey building following an intensified crackdown on those flouting the residency law. According to the police, all those arrested were those who were reported absconding by their sponsors.

When contacted, a diplomat at the embassy said: "We are in touch with the UAE authorities for more information about the case."

"Sometimes it happens that Bangladeshi workers are found without proper documents. These mainly occur due to non-payment or irregular salary payment or very low salaries given by their employers. Basically these employers are not under the present WPS (Wage protection system) system," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.

But when such people get arrested, they will be repatriated by the embassy in cooperation with the UAE government. "There is a well organised mechanism of repatriating them through an established system", he added.

Last Monday, around 1 am, the police raided the building located on the Tourist Club Area. The dilapidated building, which had 18 apartments, had hundreds of residents living in deplorable conditions, officials said.

He said that the presence of illegal residents in a country is a grave threat to the safety of our society. The intensified checks are part of campaign newly launched by the Interior ministry called Sahim.

At the outset of the raid, the illegal residents tried to escape by hiding, within shelves, kitchen cabinets, under the bed, in the balcony and behind doors, he said. Some of them even held on to the floor tightly refusing to move. The raid happened following a secret tip-off the police received.

The offenders were cramped into each and every nook and corner of the apartment. The place was extremely filthy and unfit for living with cockroaches, rats and insects crawling all over the place, Major General Al Menhali said.

Employment: law on hiring

The Law of Foreigners Entry and Residence stipulates that anyone who employs or harbours an infiltrator will be given a jail sentence of not less than two months and fined Dh100,000. According to the law, any establishment owner who employs an expatriate who is not under his sponsorship or leaves an employee under his sponsorship to work for someone else without observing the conditions set for sponsorship transfer or seeking permission will face a fine of Dh50,000.

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