Watar told Khaleej Times Hotline that despite the passage of several days, no apology has been forthcoming, and he is considering to sue the mall. He said that the mishap occurred on Sunday, when he had parked his car and was walking through the barrier towards the mall.

“There is no other way of crossing the parking area except walking through these barriers. When the sensors failed and the barrier fell upon me, I was stunned for a moment, then I realised that my nose was bleeding. I asked for a first aid kit from the security but was told that none was available,” he said.

He also said that the security offered to call an ambulance “but I did not feel the need for it then. Later, I developed a huge bump on my head, while a cut-out plaster from the pocket of a security guard was pasted on my nose.”

“I felt humiliated and unattended to. When I asked the reason for the accident, I was told that the matter would be investigated with the installers and manufacturers,” he said. "But, even after three days, no one has called me or even explained what happened," claimed Watar.

“If this accident had happened a few seconds later, my head would have been crushed; and if it had happened to a child, it could have resulted in death. I am told that several cars have also been damaged due to this accident,” he said, adding that such a huge shopping mall had no system of first aid, while malfunctioning equipment was being used.

Reply

WHEN this complaint was forwarded to the mall management, they  confirmed that there was an incident involving Ziad Watar on the afternoon of April 29.

“A car park barrier that had been in an upright position lowered itself and struck Watar who was walking beneath it. We sincerely regret this unfortunate incident,” said Jim Badour, Vice-President, Mall of the Emirates.

As soon as the security staff was alerted about the accident, they offered him first aid and volunteered to call an ambulance, which the customer declined, he said.

"Our customer relations team called Watar 15 minutes after the incident to check on his well-being and were informed that he was fine,” said Badour.

“With over two million people visiting our mall each month, we are in the process of recruiting more customer service staff and ensuring that our security team continues to respond to incidents quickly and efficiently as we feel happened in the case of Watar. This focus on the customer is also why we partner with the leaders in the service sector such as Group 4 Securicor," he said.

Badour also spoke to Ziad Watar as a follow-up to the incident and invited him to visit the mall to get more specific feedback and suggestions.

Girl students made to stand for three hours

THE father of a girl student of Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary School, Sharjah, complained that Shireen Nassir, a science teacher, gathered the students in the laboratory and taught them theory for three periods while the students were standing. He said that the teacher has a habit of doing so.

Reply

THE vice-principal of the school said that laboratory demonstrations are spread over two periods and the students are used to standing for two periods.

"The teacher taught the students for a third period. Her intent was to help them since their regular teacher had taken a day off. The teacher has been told not to do so again. It would have helped if the parent had approached the vice-principal or the principal as there is an open door policy in the institute about any complaint or problem," said the vice-principal.

Visa fees deducted from employee's salary 

A WORKER was asked to pay Dh5,000 by his employer for his visa fees. He is offered a job for Dh800 a month. The employer is monthly deducting a big chunk of Dh500 from his salary and leaving him with just Dh300 per month.

The worker complained about the situation asking whether or not the employer has the right to do so, as per the labour law. He noted that the employer who has personally recruited him from his home country told him that the visa fees is Dh4,000 and that he will offer him a salary of Dh1,000 a month.

When he arrived here by the end of 2005, he was told that his monthly salary would be Dh800 per month and that he would refund Dh5,000 visa fees in monthly instalments.

Reply

A LABOUR ministry source said that the employer is violating the country's labour law and rules which clearly state that recruitment fees should be borne by the company and not the employee. The labourer is entitled to file a complaint with the labour ministry against the illegal practice of the employer in this regard.

Unfortunately, labourers looking forward to working in the UAE usually sign side agreements with employers or their representatives at their home countries before coming here.

“However, the ministry does not give any consideration to these agreements because they are signed abroad and are not endorsed by the ministry. We usually go by the legal contract which complies with the UAE labour regulations,” the source explained.

Stray cats on the rise in Dubai

THE number of stray cats has gone up in some areas of Dubai. A caller to Khaleej Times hotline said that the menace of stray cats has increased in Bur Dubai and the civic body should ensure their numbers are kept in check.

Reply

AN OFFICIAL at the Veterinary Services Section of Dubai Municipality explained that the special programme to keep the number of stray cats to a minimum has been successful over the years. The neuter-spay-release programme for stray cats is a globally acceptable way of keeping their numbers in check without any cruelty.“For this purpose, the civic body lays traps near trash cans and other locations to catch stray cats and neuter them,” he said.

He, however, noted that people tend to take pity on trapped cats and release them or tinker with the traps leaving them ineffective. “Every year an advertisement campaign is launched by the civic body to educate residents on the issue of stray cats, its programme to limit their numbers and the hazard of common diseases,” he explained.

Coloured, odorous water from taps

AHMED Juma complained to the Khaleej Times Hotline about the bad smell and reddish colour of the tap water being supplied to the homes through the overhead water tanks of his building.

Reply

ABDULLAH Al Amri, Director-General of Sharjah Municipality stressed that the bad odour emanating from the tap water is due to lack of regular cleaning of the water tanks by the landlord. Most of the landlords are not concerned about cleaning of such tanks as they don't like to spend money on the tank hygiene. “The Municipality is implementing the gulf description No 987 for the year 1998 which allows the municipality to withdraw samples randomly from such water tanks to analyse it in their laboratory.”

The Municipality will not tolerate those who expose the lives of tenants to such health hazards, Al Amri stressed. He urged the tenants of the building to cooperate with municipality by informing the emergency team about any lack of hygiene in such water tanks by calling up 993 which receives public complaints round the clock. Al Amri also called on the landlord of the building to maintain the hygiene of the tanks by regularly cleaning them and securing them by properly covering as well as observing the health regulations of the civic body in terms of complaints about any failure, defects or contamination.