Thursday 08 / June / 2023
Muscat: Three commercial companies have been convicted for violating Consumer Protection Laws, the Public Authority for Consumer Protection announced on Tuesday.
The Trial Court at Jaalan Bani Bu Ali ruled handed out fines totalling almost OMR4000 for the violations, after sentencing individuals to conviction and imprisonment.
During inspections of commercial shops by the Department of Consumer Protection in South Al Sharqiya, a shop was found to be selling expired goods.
The case was referred to related judicial authorities, which issued a verdict condemning the defendant and punishing him with six months' jail time as a suspended sentence. The individual was also fined OMR3,000 and the expired goods were confiscated and destroyed.
The second violation involved a commercial store offering promotional offers and sales without the authorization of the related authority, contrary to Article 31 of the Consumer Protection Law.
The case file was referred to the judicial body, which issued a verdict condemning the accused and fining him a sum 500 OR.
The third case involved PACP receiving a complaint from a consumer against a car workshop, stating that he brought the engine of his boat to the workshop because of a malfunction. After the workshop repaired the engine and returned it to the consumer, the engine broke down twice in the five days following the workshop repairs.
The workshop owner asked the consumer to perform a motor service in a Dubai garage, but the defect appeared again, and therefore the consumer submitted his complaint to PACP.
The case file was referred to the Public Prosecution, which in turn referred the complaint to the court. The court ruled that the workshop owner was convicted of non-compliance with regards to providing service insurance, in accordance with Article 23 of the Consumer Protection Law. He was sentenced and fined 300 riyals.
He was also convicted of failure to provide the consumer with proof of receipt of the service, in accordance with Article 26 of the Consumer Protection Law, and was fined an additional 100 rials.
