Pinoys jailed for bouncing checks in UAE hoping for freedom

Filipinos who remain jailed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for issuing bouncing checks even after serving their three-year jail terms for the offense, are wondering when they can walk free. According to a report of the news site Gulf News on Thursday, the penalty for bouncing checks is a jail term of one month to three years. However, Gulf News said some expatriates, including a few Filipinos, have been in jail longer than three years.   The report cited Rushdie, a Filipino jailed since 2008 for his inability to pay Dh74,000 in personal loans.   Another Filipino, Angelito, 49, has served two prison terms — in 2001 and 2010 — over a single bounced check.   Angelito explained that when his Dh75,000 cheque bounced in 2001, he was sent to jail for six months. Thinking that he had been cleared of his liabilities, he returned home to the Philippines.   However, when he flew back to Dubai in 2010, he was arrested upon arrival because of a civil case filed by the creditor.   "I did not know I could be jailed again for the same thing," Angelito told Gulf News. Paying the amount owed   Jafar Al Touq, who has been a lawyer in the UAE for 26 years, said it was wrong to think that a person can be released after sitting in jail without paying the loan.   "Those who think that sitting in jail without paying a loan is a temporary, short-term way out of debt are absolutely wrong. Otherwise, I will also do the same thing - borrow, then stay in jail for a while and keep the money," he told Gulf News.   "It's the system's way of putting pressure on the defaulter. If there's reason to believe fraud has been committed then the judge will put him behind bars longer," he added.    Article 401 states that those who issue bouncing checks may be penalized with jail terms from one month to three years or a fine of a minimum of Dh1,000.   Other offenders, except for murderers, may get their sentence commuted if they memorize parts or the whole of the Quran. However,  this does not apply to someone jailed for a bounced check. - VVP, GMA News