Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: An Omani woman was arrested and charged with the murder of a 23-year-old Omani man in Barka yesterday.
A Royal Oman Police spokesman said the woman stabbed the man to death, then called to report the crime.
According to police, the woman alleged that the man had been threatening to deliver intimate photographs of her to her friends.
An official from the Royal Oman Police confirmed that the murder occurred, stating that authorities are investigating whether the man was blackmailing the woman.
“This man was exploiting her and was trying to threaten her with the use of material and pictures, through her friends.
“The woman was growing tired of his threats and decided to end it, and stabbed him. We don’t know the place, who helped her or whether others were involved,” the official said.
“He was holding things against her. “She’s the one that called the police to report the body. Perhaps she just wanted to teach him a lesson and didn’t think she would end up stabbing him with a knife and killing him. But murder is murder,” he said.
Last year’s cyber blackmail campaign reported more than 3,000 cases of electronic blackmail to the Oman Computer Emergency Response Team (OCERT).
According to their data, 2,800 reports came in through the CERT’s hotline, while 420 cases were reported via email since the start of the campaign.
The number of reported cases of online blackmail spiked by 100 per cent in 2016 from 2015, according to officials.
To report blackmail or other cyber security incidents, the public can contact the Oman CERT at 24166828 during the working hours of 7.30am to 2.30pm or at [email protected].
Cases can also be reported to the ROP hotline 80077444.
