Trader fined and jailed for price manipulation

Muscat: The Primary Court of Rustaq, located 200km north of Muscat, has sentenced an expatriate trader to six months in jail and fined 100 Omani riyals (Dh957.61) for manipulating prices of essential commodities.

The court said the convict does not deserve leniency, according to a report in Arabic daily Al Watan, which quoted a source in the public relations department of the General Prosecution.

The trader was also sentenced to an additional one month in prison for violating the labour law, the report further said.

Confiscated

The two sentences will be carried out concurrently. The court also ordered his deportation after serving his term.

Two more accused in the same case have been fined 100 riyals each for violating the labour law.

According to the sources, the Primary Court in Ibri last week fined two, accused of price manipulation, 1,000 riyals (Dh9,576.10) each and ordered confiscation of the goods that were offered for sale at a higher price.

The court also slapped a fine of 1,000 riyals on two other accused persons on the charges of price manipulation and ordered confiscation of goods being sold at a higher price.

The primary court convicted one more accused of the same crime and ordered him to serve three months' imprisonment and pay a fine of 500 riyals.