Bahrain Court Jails Four in Expired Food Products Fraud Case

TDT | Manama | Email : online@newsofbahrain.com 

A Bahraini court has convicted four individuals in a case involving the storage and circulation of expired food products after their expiry dates were fraudulently altered in an attempt to reintroduce them to the market.

According to the Chief Prosecutor of the Ministries and Public Entities Prosecution, the Lower Criminal Court sentenced the company’s de facto manager to three years in prison and imposed a fine of BD10,000. Three company workers were each sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to be permanently deported from Bahrain upon completion of their sentences.

The court also ordered the confiscation and destruction of the adulterated products and the equipment used in the offence, the publication of a summary of the final judgment at the expense of the convicted individuals, and the closure of the company for six months.

The case began after the Public Prosecution received a report from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce indicating that workers at a food trading company had allegedly tampered with expiry dates on food products to place them back on the market.

Subsequent inspections led to the seizure of quantities of spoiled and adulterated goods. The Public Prosecution launched an immediate investigation, questioned the defendants and reviewed technical evidence before concluding that sufficient proof existed to support the charges.

The defendants were detained and referred to the competent criminal court, which issued the convictions and penalties.