Six months in jail for pillow cheat in Oman

Buraimi:"New" pillows filled with old clothes from garbage dumps were sold to unsuspecting customers in Buraimi, officials have revealed.

A Buraimi court fined an Asian national OMR 2000 and sentenced him to six months in prison for distributing pillows stuffed with old sponges and clothes.

A consumer filed a complaint against the expatriate after buying a pillow from a furniture store. After suspecting something was wrong with the stuffing of the pillow, the customer opened it and found old clothes inside, which prompted him to file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Protection.

The department immediately formed a team of judicial officers to inspect the furniture stores in the area. After monitoring a specific store which sells “imported” products and ensuring illegal activity was being practiced, permission was gained from the public prosecution to raid the store.

Officials found three packaging machines, 216 pillows and 294 Arabic pillows including large amounts of used sponges and old clothes.

An employee at the store was questioned of their activity and he revealed that they manufacture pillows and stuff them with sponges and old clothes which are obtained from garbage bins and old furniture. The materials are sown into the pillow case and covered in plastic giving it a “new” appearance; which are then distributed to local furniture shops.

The person responsible was apprehended and referred to court where the judge ruled against him and ordered the seizure of the products.