Drugs in musician's suitcase 'by mistake'



ABU DHABI // Hashish and tramadol pills found in the suitcase of a musician playing in the band of the Egyptian singer and presidential hopeful Saad Al Sughayar were there "by mistake", a court heard today.

YM told the Criminal Court he arrived in the UAE from his native Egypt to play in the band for one day, but denied intentionally bringing the drugs with him. The date of the musician's arrest was not mentioned in court.

"I don't know how they ended up in my bag, the customs officer surprised me with them," he said, adding that he shares the tuxedo in which the drugs were found with his brother, who is a similar size.

However, the musician admitted using drugs in his home country. "You know how it is," he told Chief Justice Sayed Abdul Baseer, the head of the court.

"No. How would I know how it is?", replied the chief justice, "you are a big sinner".

The musician said he had a medical prescription for the Tramadol that he had been issued in Egypt but he did not know where it was.

"Someone was supposed to attend today and bring it, but I don't know what happened to it," he said, telling the judge: "If you can give me two days I'll bring it."

The musician said that he previously signed a confession only because the police told him that he would be immediately returned to Egypt if he did so.

The judge said he would announce a verdict on Tuesday. When the musician asked if he could be bailed out in the meantime, the judge replied: "You'll get bail in heaven."

hdajani@thenational.ae

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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing

In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.

While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.

In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all). 

“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”

Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.

"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."

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