Is this fair?
An expat working and residing in the industrial area was recently stopped by police, on the streets, as part of routine id checks.
Unfortunately, this man's RP had expired in June. His passport was with his sponsor too. This poor man was put behind bars for a few days, until the sponsor's(a local cleaning company)representative showed up and informed the cops that the RP is under renewal, after which he was released from prison.
This little episode may not be an incident of significance to many of us. Nevertheless, being a forum, I would like to hear your say on this.
Was it the fault of this expat, that he was humiliated and thrown into prison? Shouldn't the sponsor be accountable for this administration lapse from their side and fined?
Empathy burdened me to write this, as i know this gentleman personally.
Really , they are doing them Job ... Cuz of who have no mind and idiots . they only stay to make troubles .
Police men are just doing their jobs.....as an expat we should always carry with us ALL THE TIME even photocopy of our passport and resident ID. Problem here most police men don't know how to speak or can't understand english....just always BE CAREFUL!!!!! They have a different system here,,,sometimes I feel like crazy,,,,realllyyyy,,,i think they are still starting to manage their own country but don't know how,,,,they are depending on other people's mind that sometimes are really crazy thing.....
Sponsors are locals and they will not be in trouble if such lapse are happening from their end.
I do not comprehend the idea of employer holding the passport, but then again, which employer gives a damn about that.
For the other part of your question, refer to the reply made by the OP, who is partly in agreement with what I said.
What we have learnt here...
Who goes to jail? You.
Who is treated like a criminal? You.
Who has to be interrogated? You.
Should it be the company? Yes.
Will that ever happen? No.
Therefeore, you have to THINK for yourself, because clearly nobody else is looking after you in this world.
It IS the job of the company, but this horror story is NOT the first, why did the employee not ask 'if you have my RP, what happens if someone asks me for it?'.
These threads have, and WILL, keep coming up again and again, so rather than complain, why not take a stand and ASK for a copy, even if company says 'oh, you don't need a copy' ask for your OWN peace of mind?
I am not holding the employee entirely responsible, but partly. What I said was the employee must also be responsible enough to bring it to the attention of the employer about the expiry.
If the situation is as you say, then how can you hold the employee responsible ?
He/She would not be in any position to dictate to the company..
In such cases, the government MUST fine the company. This would send a clear message.
Colt45, not all expats holding their own passport, especially skilled workers. Cant you understand the story here, passport was with sponsor! So in that particular case, it is the job of the sponsor to renew the RP on time! Got it?!
No problemo buddy, have a good one!
(Oops, i am involved in another forum where you just direct your response to the last comment, regardless of what they said sorry! Habit)
If you read my earlier post, you would know that I said I hold the employee responsible too. :-)
You are right.
But how many stories do we hear of incompetent companies? About people who don't care about employees? That you cannot trust corporations, who lose things in paperwork and 'system errors'? ALL the time.
With all these things in mind, why would you NOT ask questions? Why rely on what the company (who is untrustworthy, remember) to tell you all the facts? Why not ask why, what, where, when, about everything, so you have your OWN knowledge?
Do i defend the company? No.
Will this keep happening? Yes.
So maybe people should ask questions about things that affect their livelihood, rather than waiting to be told...?
ofcourse the company had held responsible and might be penalized!... or cops may put some restrictions whatsoever.
Companies learn zilch from this, it's the poor employee who is humiliated. It's only when they're penalized heavily for it, will they learn something.
Education is not the same as intelligence, or initiative!
This country is rife with people covering up glaring idiocy with 'well he isn't as educated'. Huh?
Education is qualifications, and knowledge.
Intelligence is how you use your brain, not what facts it knows.
You CAN renew the RP before the expiry, and i mean months before.
Did he know that? Maybe not.
When given the card, did he ask 'what is this? does it last forever?'....
atleast company learned a lesson to renew its employees rp on early basis... to escape such kinda cases from happening again...
No one should be allowed to hold on to the paperwork of another individual. I think they should have gone and got the SPONSOR and put him behind bars!!! he would soon learn not to let the RP and things of his staff run out without being renewed....
That being said, I am not supporting the cops decision of throwing him in jail for a few days. They should have dealt with it in a better way, maybe by means of a fine or a penalty to the company.
yes, Colt45... i agree in part wih you that, in principle, he should have been more responsible in informing the company well ahead of RP expiry date.
He had his expired ID card on him, which clearly suggests that the company never submitted for renewal until after this incident.
why the company let him go outside or work taking into notice that his RP has been expired or submitted for renewal... why he took risk and been caught, the person himself is held responsible too...!
Poor guy and its not his fault. When you have no rights in a country, imprisoment without recourse to legal counsel is a daily hazard...
in our company, we have to surrender our RP and Passport, two weeks prior to expiration We just leave a copy for ourself!
but I think you can initiate the process of renewal a max of 90 days prior to expiry... right?
Don't you think your friend should have been a little more responsible to have notified the company well ahead of his RP expiry? And furthermore also keep a copy of his RP with him at all times?
but how many company have ideal situation? In Doha? you must be dreaming! Specifically companies in the Industrial area? Funny if they do even have a medical card?
The RP was submitted for renewal AFTER he was put in the prison.
Good point made by Britexpat
really a bad experience
In my opinion it is the apathy of the Sponsor in this case.
The onus of renewing ones RP in many big organisations, is not the responsibility of the company, but the employee. It's a different scenario, if the company holds the employees passport.
did this guy a favour by putting him behind bars - must be like the hilton compared with the industrial area!
The fault lies with the company. If the RP was being renewed, then he should have been provided with a stampred letter from the company stating this fact - which he could carry with him.
To be honest not fair..the employee was under employer responsibility. RP expiration and renewal is employer's job to monitor that is why there are lots of HR and ADMIN in their offices. The poor man is working round the clock a day under the extreme heat of the sun. Police should sue the company/ employer not the poor employee. SO BAD......*
of his passport and the expired RP. Usually, the RP should be renewed way ahead of the expiration date (maybe two to three days). Maybe he had not explained it properly and he doesn't have a copy of his documents. MAny policemen don't know how to speak in English, maybe that's the problem!
is it his fault if he's not educated?
I totally agree to this...I completely sympathize with the poor worker who had to spend time in prison....
however, i think two factors contribute to this:
1. If he was a bit educated then first he wouldn't be a worker, even if he was, he would have have made sure to have some copies of paper that show that it is sent for renewal.
2. Police cannot go and arrest the sponsor for this matter, so they are punishing the worker so next time he will make sure it doesn't repeat.
Its sad....exploitation and biased treatment.....
Another crazy system, thrown into jail when he is not at fault.
should wear electronic tags!! blighters..
It is absolutely crazy here that BOTH legally recognized IDs can be taken from you at the same time for renewal of only one of them. Surely the system is sufficiently computerized to avoid this situation?
sad but a true fact ... the cops were just doing their job ...you cant blame em ... though there might be some justification in blaming the sponsor ..