Govt staff takes dead man's allowance in UAE for 7 years
The original beneficiary has been dead since 2011.
A government official in Al Ain has been arrested for receiving the monthly stipend of a man who has been dead for seven years. The suspect, who is from a Gulf country, was caught with items believed to have been used for practising witchcraft.
Colonel Matar Medad Al Muheiri, director of the anti-corruption department at the Abu Dhabi Police's command affairs sector, said three Asians involved in the case have been arrested.
The police investigated the case after a federal government body complained about financial and administrative corruption at its branch in Al Ain. The body said that it had been paying a monthly stipend to someone, who, as it emerged later, had died in 2011.
Investigations revealed that the main suspect did not close the beneficiary's employment file despite being aware about his death.
Police investigations also revealed that the suspect intended to keep the matter a secret. He allegedly replaced the deceased's passport copy with another person's, whose names were similar.
The police found bank cards that belonged to other beneficiaries at the government body.
On searching the suspect's bag, the police found three dead birds, talismans and tools used in practising black magic and sorcery. The police also found other bank cards, talismans, tufts, amulets and books from his house.
A female suspect is believed to have aided and abetted in the crime. Two female domestic helpers helped the prime suspect withdraw the deceased's monthly stipend from ATM machines on the latter's instructions.
The suspects, the case file, and the seized items have been referred to the public prosecution in Al Ain for further investigations.
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