Arrested Chinese teenager plans lucrative career in Dubai, where beggars can earn $100K a month
A Chinese teenager had found a way to earn over a $100,000 in Dubai, if only he did not get caught. The 16-year-old boy from Sichuan province of China was detained at the Dubai airport after stowing away in a flight from Shanghai. He was hoping to become a beggar in Dubai, where panhandlers earn about 480,000 yuan (AU$100,000) a month.
According to Chinese site Sohu (via Shanghaiist), the teenager stowed away inside an Emirates Airlines flight on May 26. It’s unclear how he managed to evade security at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai and sneak inside the plane.
After a nearly 10-hour flight inside the plane’s cargo compartment, he was arrested at the Dubai airport. He told police his accommodation was fairly comfortable though it could have been better.
As for why he wanted to go to Dubai, he revealed to police that he had come to the United Arab Emirates city to start a lucrative career that would earn him at least $100,000 a month. Upon hearing reports that even the worst beggars could earn that much money, he set his sights on begging on the streets of the affluent city.
The teenager also apparently heard that even Dubai prisons are nice, so if he somehow ended up incarcerated in UAE, he wouldn’t complain too much.
As Shanghaiist reported, the teenager would likely not face any serious consequences for his actions since he is a juvenile. He is expected to be deported and banned from entering Dubai again. The police are also looking into possible gang affiliation.
Dubai’s rich beggars
The boy’s idea of becoming rich as a beggar isn’t so farfetched. In April, it was reported that a beggar caught by Dubai Municipality inspectors was making as much as Dh270,000 (AU$100,000) per month.
Gulf News reports that about 59 “professional” beggars were arrested as part of a local campaign during the first three months of the year. Some of the beggars were carrying passports issued with business or tourist visas, with most of them had entered the country legally with a three-month stay.
“Through our calculations, we found that the beggar earned an average of almost Dh9,000 (AU$3,400) per day, which is equivalent to Dh1,500 (AU$564) per hour and a half. But we believed that more money was collected on Fridays, especially if they were standing in front of mosques,” Faisal Al Badiawi, head of Markets Section at the Dubai Municipality, said.
Begging is illegal in the UAE.
