Oman fake auto parts case adjourned

Dubai: The Muscat Primary Court on Thursday adjourned a hearing in the fake automobile parts case to November 7 after the first hearing in the case filed by the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) in Oman against a local agency.

The Public Prosecution told presiding judge Yousuf Al Faleti that the agency was involved in labelling fake parts with labels of companies since 1998.

According to the Al Balad news portal, two of the eight accused were not present in court. The report quoted the Public Prosecution saying that one of the accused had fled the country and another could not attend due to illness.

The case relates to alleged fake ‘Man’ heavy vehicle parts sold by Arabian Engineering Services (AES), a Saud Bahwan Group Company.

The Prosecution informed the judge that the PACP raiding party found 36,818 fake parts. The PACP also consulted a German expert to verify the authenticity of the auto parts.

The prosecution has charged the defendants with procuring parts from multiple sources at a lower price. The defendants are also accused of changing the labels on the parts and selling them in the market without informing consumers that the parts were not procured from the Man company.

The defence denied the charges and contended that the parts were not fake, although they were procured from sources other than Man due to the difference in cost.