NEWS FROM THE UAE
Local Media excerpts
Fear grips Yarmouk after attack
Sharjah - Feb. 06: THE attack on an Indian expatriate woman in Sharjah's Yarmouk on Sunday has added to the unmistakable sign of fear among terrorised residents, especially women and children.
Shocked women are scared of leaving their house doors unlocked, let alone stepping out of their homes when dusk falls, residents told The Gulf Today.
On Sunday, an Indian mother of two was attacked, allegedly raped and robbed by an unidentified man who barged into her house. Even as the police, who registered a case of rape, assault and theft, are yet to arrest the accused, another attempt of break-in was reported in the next building on Monday.
The target of the second incident also was a housewife.
The two consecutive incidents have sent shock waves through the residents, especially women. They said the poorly lit, narrow passages have become the "hideouts" of miscreants who target lone walkers. While women complained of exhibitionism and teasing men revealed cases of robbery and thefts in the area.
"I must say that there is a reign of terror here. There are many crimes taking place in this highly populated area. But we don't see any tangible action," said an Indian youth, who preferred not to be named.
According to him, the recent crimes that took place in the area included a group of barbers being looted by a gang posing as CID officials and a Filipina employee of a shopping mall being robbed at knife point. Absence of watchmen in most of the residential buildings in the locality has also contributed to the lack of safety.
"Many cases go unreported. People are scared of going to the police. Many don't want to be dragged into legal procedures. We are upset that police have not started patrolling our area even after the shocking incident on Sunday," he said.
Azra, an Indian mother of two children, said that she was frightened of going alone even to the supermarket in the next building. "After these two incidents, I'm even scared of accompanying my children to their school bus early in the morning," she said.
Arshie, a Pakistani mother of three children, said that she and her friends no longer gather for their evening chat outside their buildings. "Earlier we used to sit on the pavement beside the open area in front of our buildings in the evenings. Children would play while we women chat. Now, nobody is stepping out their houses in the evenings," she said.
Another woman, who did not want to be named, said that many girls and women were victims of exhibitionism by sexual perverts who loiter in the passages between congested buildings. "These things are happening so often and those miscreants don't even spare children," she said lamenting the state of affairs.
Old taxis to be monitored
Abu Dhabi - Feb. 06: The Abu Dhabi Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars (TransAD) has initiated steps to integrate old taxis into the new numbering scheme and include them under TransAD's monitoring system.
More than 3,000 old taxis were numbered in the last few weeks in the same way as the new taxis and they were incorporated under the centre's monitoring system.
Further, the new toll-free number 600 53 53 53 has now been posted on the rear of each of the old taxis.
Commenting on the development, Khalid Saleh Al Rashedi, General Manager of TransAD, said that the centre is working hard on improving the scheme of all hire cars within the emirate to meet international standards.
He stressed that TransAD is currently planning more initiatives to better organise the quality of service provided by this sector.
Rashedi called on people to use the hotline to lodge comments concerning both old and new taxis. He vowed that proper action wold be initiated.
All enquiries will be dealt with by a team of trained professionals and newly-appointed investigators who will monitor further implementation of the law and investigate comments.
Fire erupts at Carrefour storage area
Sharjah - Feb. 06: PEOPLE shopping at Carrefour were asked to vacate the premises on Tuesday afternoon after a storage area caught fire.
Smoke could be seen billowing from the premises.
To ensure the safety of Carrefour shoppers the authorities asked them to vacate the premises till the blaze was contained.
Carrefour remained closed uptil 5pm when normalcy returned.
Elaborating about mishap Henri Changeux, Senior Vice President GCC Retail, MAF Hypermarkets (Carrefour) told The Gulf Today.
"There was a fire in the storage area of Carrefour Sharjah City Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
The Carrefour team reacted promptly, followed the necessary guidelines and informed the Sharjah Civil Defence immediately and the fire was contained shortly with the help of Sharjah Civil Defence.
The hypermarket remain closed till the time of going to the press.
When asked about the main cause and the damages caused by the accident Chageux said:
"It is too early to ascertain the extent of damage caused but Carrefour Sharjah has asked people to vacate carrefour until the fire was contained and there was no smoke in the air."
According to a source at the Sharjah Civil Defence: "We were reported about the accident at around 1:20 pm as there was huge quantity of cartons burnt resulting in huge amount of smoke emitting. At around 2.50pm we managed to contain the fire. The cause of the accident is unknown.
Indian driver killed
Ajman - Feb. 06: AN INDIAN national died on the spot on Monday evening when his pick-up truck moving on one of the side roads leading to a main road in Al Jarf Industrial area in Ajman collided with a sewerage truck that was moving on the main road.
Colonel Ali Saeed Al Matrooshi, Head of the Traffic Department of Ajman Police told The Gulf Today that the pick-up driver was accompanied by another person who was admitted to Khalifa Hospital right after the accident as he is currently in critical condition.
According to Colonel Al Matrooshi "the accident occurred when the pick-up driver suddenly drove his vehicle from the side road to the main road without ensuring that the main road is empty. "
"The driver died on the spot as the collision affected the car doors and particularly the driver door. The car doors are among the dangerous parts of the car that can severely affect the drivers and the passengers whose cars are hit."
Colonel Al Matrooshi urged motorist to take necessary precautions while moving from a side road to a main road and that they should not even think of driving from a side to a main road without ensuring that the main road is empty with no cars passing.
"Drivers reckless attitude in driving from a side road to a main road without thoroughly checking the road they are driving into can lead to tragic accidents where the drivers or others affected by the accident can lose their lives."
Fake money racket busted in RAK
Ras Al Khaimah - Feb. 06: A Criminal Investigation Department team at Ras Al Khaimah police has busted a $3 million fake money racket.
Four Africans tried to sell the fake money to a trader in RAK in return for Dhs1 million.
Major Hamad Ali Al Debani, the chief of investigation branch at RAK police, said that the department had earlier received information from a source about four Africans of different nationalities living in Dubai planning to sell fake dollars to a trader.
The trader prepared a part of the money and the delivery place was agreed on.
The Africans came with an iron safe claiming that it contained the money and gave it to the trader as a guarantee till they returned to complete the deal.
However, they delayed the deal fearing that they would be arrested.
The police managed to bring the criminals around to RAK. Three of them went out of the car and the fourth stayed in it. They moved to the house agreed on. After ten minutes, the source came out as a signal.
The police raided the house and seized the money in a suitcase with gloves and masks.
When the criminals were interrogated, they confessed to their crime. They were referred to public prosecution on Monday on the charge of fraud.
(NEWS CLIPPINGS FROM GULF TODAY)