Watchful Police to Yield Arab’s Gifts

Forty-eight policemen will have to settle for a job well done instead of the expensive watches they received from the president of the United Arab Emirates in gratitude for guarding him.

“It was not deemed correct that officials receive extra compensation for fulfillment of their normal duties,” said an Aachen police spokesman.

The president, Sheik Zayed ibn Sultan al Nuhayan, gave the Swiss watches to the policemen who guarded him during an August, 1987, visit, said the spokesman on condition of anonymity.

“The watches are worth several thousand marks (more than $1,000) each, and officials are questioning the propriety of accepting the gifts,” he said.

The new police chief, Heinrich Boenninghausen, has decided the watches should be auctioned off with the money to go to charity, the spokesman said.