Manhunt: 'Four suspects fled Oman after murders'

Business Sunday 04/August/2019 14:09 PM
By: Times News Service

Muscat: An international manhunt is underway for four suspects who allegedly murdered an entire Omani family then fled the country, according to Royal Oman Police.
A father, mother and their three sons, aged 12, 9 and 6, were found dead in the family home in Wilayat Bidiyah last week.
They had been murdered with knives and hammers. It took two days for relatives to discover what had happened and raise the alarm but by then the suspects had already fled Oman.
The Royal Oman Police said in a statement: “Searches and investigations through international channels are underway to track those who were involved in the crime. Due to the delay in reporting the crime the accused managed to escape the country.”
According to sources, the suspects had planned the gruesome attack. The father worked for the Bidiyah court and the mother taught the holy Quran to women in the area.
Zuhair Nasser Al Balushi, the brother of the deceased, spoke to Times of Oman about what his family has been going through the past few days: “We have full confidence in the justice system but we want to know when will the perpetrators be brought back to face their crimes?
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“We will not settle; we are demanding the full extent of punishment.” Speaking about why it took two days for the bodies to be found, Al Balushi added: “We tried to call him on the first day but there was no answer, and on the day, his wife’s family broke into the house and found the dead bodies.”
The family members were laid to rest on Friday, August 2.
Mahmoud Abdullah Al Saidi, wali of Wilayat Bidiyah, spoke to Times of Oman about the impact this murder case has had on the local community, “We were all shocked to hear about this crime because we never imagined something like this happening here.”
The house was not isolated, it was in a populated neighbourhood.
“We thank the authorities for their announcement and trust them in their actions. Badiyah is a safe wilayah just like the other wilayahs in the country however this is a unique case, unlike the norm. No society is free of such crime.”
The wali also called on the public not to spread any rumours regarding the case. “All the information is not known yet and investigations are underway.”