58 expat women arrested in Oman for "acts against public morality"

Muscat: More than 50 women have been arrested for “committing acts contrary to public morals”, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) announced.
In a statement, ROP said: “The Muscat Governorate police command, in cooperation with a number of supporting police groups, arrested 58 women of various nationalities for violating the residence law and committing acts contrary to public morals.”
The police added that the defendants were arrested in several locations in the wilayat of Bausher, the latest in a number of arrests made by the police to keep the streets safe.
Just a few days ago, on January 9, a group of Arab expats who were posing as beggars were arrested by the ROP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
Consisting of four women and two men, the members would knock on doors pretending to be beggars. If they were sure that the house was empty, they would break open the door and burgle the house. In December, 23 women were arrested on charges of indulging in immoral acts in public. They were of Asian nationality with the police then saying, “Some 23 Asian women were arrested in Al Khuwair on charges of committing acts contrary to public morality.”
The ROP carries out regular checks in Muscat suburbs and other cities to ensure that no unsavoury elements linger for long.
More than 300 female expatriates were arrested in Al Khuwair alone between January and June 2018. Most of the women detained were of African and Asian nationality, and with one of the biggest arrests involving the detention of 104 expat women on charges of immoral activities in the Sultanate, in a night-time raid conducted by the ROP.
A police official had said at the time, “There are lots of restaurants, coffee shops (shisha) and congested roads in Al Khuwair district. We received information about houses, flats and areas with suspicious activities and so we monitored these locations. Once we had a confirmation, we took action and arrested the women.”
“We appeal to property owners in Al Khuwair, Muscat, to conduct a check on those who rent out their places, or they will be held accountable,” the police said, adding that in March 2018, nearly 240 expats were arrested for immoral acts. This figure included 199 women and 48 men.