Company fined for hiring illegals

The RAK Naturalisation and Residency Court has found a company owner guilty of recruiting illegal residents and has been slapped with a Dh50,000 fine.

The Court, presided over by Judge Ahmed Al Ameer, has also ordered the closure of the company until it amends the position of all the employees working there in violation of the law.

As for the Arab and Asian workers convicted of illegally staying and working in the country, the court ordered them to pay different amounts of fines in view of their overstay period and other violations.

Court records show the RAK Labour Office, in collaboration with the Illegals Follow-up Section at the Foreigners and Residency Affairs in Ras Al Khaimah, earlier arrested the suspects in intensive raids. The government announced in February, at the end of the amnesty period which allowed illegal residents to exit the country without penalty, that it would begin a serious crackdown on people overstaying in the country.

The company owner also proved to have flouted the set rules and closed his company without notifying the bodies concerned to avoid paying the workers’ pending salaries and arrears.

The RAK Misdemeanor Court in another case, exonerated an Asian worker from destroying the labour camp where he was staying for lack of evidence and criminal grounds.

The court, presided over by Judge Fathi Al Qallaa, said the case unfolded last year when the sponsor of the worker lodged a complaint with the RAK Police accusing his worker of ruining the facilities in his labour camp where other workers are staying.