Police arrest beggar disguised as woman in Irbid

AMMAN — Police on Monday arrested a man in his 30s who was reportedly begging outside a mosque in Irbid disguised as a woman. 

The beggar was wearing the niqab, a face veil, but police became suspicious of him due to the way he was walking, a security source said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Police followed the beggar and discovered he was a man dressed as a woman, Petra said, adding that he was detained and referred to the governor for further measures. 

Vagrancy usually increases sharply in Ramadan across the Kingdom and between 400 and 500 beggars are detained in the Muslim holy month each year, most of whom are boys and women, according to official figures. 

Before the start of the fasting month, authorities urged the public to stop giving handouts to street beggars and the Social Development Ministry and the Public Security Department launched an intensive crackdown on begging.

Some 20 per cent of beggars in Jordan are Syrian refugees, according to Social Development Ministry Spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout. 

He recently told The Jordan Times that 99 per cent of elderly beggars who claim to have disabilities are actually healthy.