2,500 offensive badges seized

With National Day just 11 days away, as many as 2,500 badges with a distorted image of the ‘Spirit of the Union’ campaign logo were confiscated by the Dubai Economic Development Department (DED) on Tuesday.

On the badges, the image shows the leaders of the UAE Federation in traditional dress but not wearing the traditional headgear.

As the news spread, the authorities in emirates swung into action and removed the fake badges from stores selling them and imposed hefty fines on the shop owners.

The Ministry of Economy has decided to slap fines upto Dh200,000 on shops found selling the badges from now.

Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the ministry, said the ministry, in collaboration with the economic development departments and municipalities in the country, would keep a close watch on the outlets to ensure that the badges, which did not comply with the specifications and affronted the symbols of the Union, were not sold.

“The ministry will impose fines ranging from Dh20,000 to AED 200,000 on stores which are found selling or circulating such distorted badges,” he said, noting that they were not available in all emirates.

Omar Bu Shehab, Executive Director for Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection at the DED, said as many as 2,500 fake badges bearing the distorted Spirit of the Union logo were seized in a crackdown launched after a tipoff.

“Following the crackdown, the main distributor of the badges was identified. He is a trader operating in the big market in Dubai. He designed and manufactured the badges in China with the help of a group of Asians who run a factory in that country,” Bu Shehab said.

The DED gave the distributor a 24-hour ultimatum to withdraw all offensive goods he had distributed in the markets, he said. The trader had also been asked to inventory all stocks he had in his store in Ajman and notify the DED about them.

“On interrogation, the trader said he had never intended to offend the country by selling the badges and the distorted image on them was made by the factory,” Bu Shehab said, adding that the department would verify these claims and take necessary action based on the findings. — news@khaleejtimes.com