Dubai: People with bounced cheques worth less than Dh200,000 in Dubai can pay their fines on their smartphones without having to go to police station, an official said on Monday.
The new prosecution service was announced during Gitex Technology Week in Dubai on Monday, with people being able to avail the facility from October 13.
Fatima Ahmad Bin Haider, IT director at Dubai Public Prosecution, told Gulf News, that a link will be sent to the mobile phone of the person to proceed online and complete the formalities, eliminating the need to see a prosecution representative.
Face recognition, Emirates ID
Once the bounced cheque suspect clicks on the link, a window will open and scan his picture using face recognition and his Emirates ID to proceed with the legal order.
“We used Artificial Intelligence and face recognition to identify the suspect to start the investigation. The suspect can either download the case announcement or go physically to prosecution, or pay the fine on the same window and complete the formalities without presenting himself physically for the legal order,” Bin Haider said.
According to the Legal Order Law No 1 of 2017 which came into effect in December 2017, people with bounced cheques worth less than Dh200,000 can be punished by prosecution without the case being referred to court, against a maximum fine of Dh10,000.
“The new service will cut time and effort for people with bounced cheques of less than Dh200,000. In the past, people had to visit the prosecution to pay the fine. With this technology, they can get the legal order and pay their fines with a few clicks on their mobile phones,” Bin Haider added.
Residents can also object to the legal order fine by clicking on link in the window and uploading the necessary documents.
However, while payment of the fine may settle the criminal case, the civil liability remains and the victim can pursue the civil case in court.
Improve speed in legal orders
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, the Penal Order legislation has further improved the working processes of the Dubai Public Prosecution, enabling it to settle 30,618 cases between November 2017 and the end of 2018.
Dubai’s Attorney-General Essam Eisa Al Humaidan said bounced cheques of up to Dh200,000 represented the highest percentage of cases settled by the Penal Order legislation with 26,765 cases or 87 per cent of total cases, while refusal of payment cases represented three per cent (951) of the cases.
Emirati lawyer Yousef Al Bahar, told Gulf News that it is an important and innovative service to speed up legal process regarding the legal order.
“It will be an important step in finishing the cases of the legal order quickly. I think it is first of its kind in the region to enhance the procedures on bounce cheque cases. Dubai always looks for innovative procedures using smart services,” Al Bahar said.
Fines for bounced cheques
· Bounced cheques worth Dh1 to Dh50,000: Dh2,000
· Bounced cheques worth Dh50,000 to Dh100,000: Dh5,000
· Bounced cheques worth Dh100,000 to Dh200,000: Dh10,000
New e-marriage facility in Dubai Courts
Dubai Court on Monday announced a new service called ‘Smart Zawaj [wedding]’ for people who want to get married without the need to go to court.
Hamad Thani, director of communications at Dubai Courts, said that the new project will be launched in 2020.
The service allows a resident to apply online, select the marriage officials and provide necessary information and documents for the e-marriage. Then an official will visit the house of the applicant on a scheduled date and gets the marriage contract signed.
The official later will send the marriage certificate online to the judge to check the details and issue an official marriage certificate which is sent to the applicant by email.
“Usually many people come to court to get these certificates. They are accompanied by family members and this causes crowding. With the new application, people can cut 90 per cent of the time,” Thani said.
He said around 25 marriages are conducted in Dubai Courts every day.
