A Pakistani expatiate has gone from owning a million-dirham business in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to becoming a labourer at a junkyard after he lost over Dh500,000 (approximately Rs20 million) in an alleged scam.
Asghar Hussain and his family lives were turned upside down in late 2008, when an Indian con artist forged his signatures on legal company papers and fled the UAE, Khaleej Times reported on Monday.
The Sharjah courts had ordered a five-year imprisonment and deportation for the accused in absentia.
Asghar, his wife and four children, aged 15 to 23, have had to live with the dire consequences following the incident. By 2013, Asghar was no longer able to keep his business going as he was unable to pay bank loans. His children were kicked out of school in 2014 for not paying fees they remain without an education till this day.
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Their residence, which used to be a largetwo-bedroom apartment, is now a small, unfurnished room inside a shared apartment. They sleep on the floor, hang their clothes on a dirty ladder, and have their belongings stored away in worn-out cardboard boxes.
My children havent been to school in almost five years, said the mother, Farah Gull who failed to hold back her tears. They are desperate for education. They see other children going to school and they ask us when theyll be returning to school. I have knocked on so many doors, asking charities if they can at least help us with school, but we were turned away.
