Cheque bounce cases top crime list in the Sultanate

Cheque bounce cases topped the list of crimes reported in the Sultanate in 2017. A total of 4,714 such cases were reported.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Dr Ahmed al Shukaili, Assistant Prosecutor, said narcotics cases came second at 2,497, followed by thefts at 2,272.

The number of juvenile crimes declined from 1,090 in 2016 to 848.

The number of cases registered by the Public Prosecution dropped 27.1 per cent to 27,686 (37,972 in 2016). Muscat Governorate registered the most number of cases 6,435 (23.2 per cent), followed by Batinah with 3,674 (13.3 per cent).

The number of cases dropped in all the directorates, except Al Dakhiliyah and Al Sharqiyah East, which saw a 3 and 1.7 per cent rise, respectively. Dhofar saw a 50 per cent dip in the total number of cases reported.

Ninety-two per cent of crimes were committed by males (31,948). The number of expatriate offenders declined from 15,114 to 13,867.

As for the murder cases, 2017 saw a drop to 23 as against 27 in 2016.

Sixteen of these were ‘voluntary murders’, four related to felony and two child murders.

According to Dr Al Shukaili, other crimes include violation of labour code (1,808), traffic accidents (1,350), and violation of consumer protection law (1,298).

The Public Prosecution has made significant achievements in 2017 like the electronic link with the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and judiciary institutions and remote interrogation of offenders via video.

The Public Prosecution has recruited a number of staff and provided them with the required training and rehabilitation.

It has played a community role in educating the public through workshops and lectures.