Muscat: The Muscat Primary Court on Thursday handed prison terms to nine expatriate traders in a case of expired confectionery items. The accused were also fined and their deportation ordered d at the end of their sentence.
The court found that the first four offenders — Ratansinh Dwarkadas, Jaisinh Dwarkadas, Ranjitsinh Dwarkadas and George — were guilty of trading in unhealthy food stuff and guilty of violating the Consumer Protection Law and its provisions. All four were sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 400 Omani riyals (Dh3,803) each. It also found them guilty of storing food inappropriately, breaking the law on food safety, and sentenced them to a year in prison and a fine of 10,000 riyals for each.
The four were also fined 4,000 riyals for employing expatriates without legal status. The four were ordered to pay all expenses of deporting the other five accused.
The court found that the other five were guilty of partially taking part in displaying harmful and unhealthy food stuff and guilty of violating the Consumer Protection Law and its provisions. Two were given a one-year prison term and a 400 riyal fine while three others were sent to jail for two years and a 400 riyal fine was imposed on them.
The Public Authority for Consumer Protection had seized large amounts of expired confectionery at a shop and two stores of Dwarkadas Kalyanji Company based in Muttrah and Darseit suburbs of Muscat.
The Public Prosecution had built a case against nine, including owners of the company and some staff members. The prosecution had alleged that the accused used to import expired or almost expired goods and then resell them after illegally altering the production and expiry dates on the products and distributing these to retailers in local market.
