Indian tourist arrested on arrival in Sharjah for 'credit card dues'

Unpaid credit card dues of an unknown individual have come to haunt an Indian tourist visiting the UAE for the first time, leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves.

Mathew Joseph, a fishermen from Trivandrum in Kerala, landed here on January 12 to enjoy Dubai Shopping Festival. But his holiday plans turned disastrous after he was arrested by the immigration officials in Sharjah on arrival. Police say he has about Dh14,000 unpaid credit card dues, which he accumulated while he worked in Dubai a few years ago.

Interestingly, Joseph’s name, his father’s and mother’s name along with his picture and even the signature in the passport matches that of another absconding individual who had worked as a driver in Dubai a few years ago.

“Only his date of birth is different, but even that is of just seven days,” says Advocate Hashik TK.

The distraught wife of Joseph, who hails from the South Indian city of Trivandrum in Kerala, says her family’s survival is at stake.