MUSCAT: The Royal Oman Police (ROP) urged people not to take photos or videos of the accident victims and share them on social media, which is an offence punishable under various sections.
The Sultanate of Oman has enacted a law that makes it a crime for anyone who takes videos or photos of a crime or an accident instead of helping.
“There is a general trend among some of the members of the society to stop at the site of an accident just to take videos and photos. This type of action from the general public, recording an accident but not doing anything to help, is a punishable offence and will be prosecuted,” said a senior ROP officer.
This comes in the wake of the recent incident where an expatriate was arrested for recording a video showing the bodies of people who died in a road accident in the Wilayat of Al Duqm, Al Wusta Governorate.
The ROP officer said the video depicted the victims of a collision between two vehicles and was filmed at the scene of the accident. Authorities said the act constitutes a violation of privacy and public decency.
“We repeatedly urge the public not to record or share images or videos of accident scenes out of respect for victims and their families, and to allow authorities to handle investigations appropriately.”
He further said that it is even more disturbing because by seeing such images, some relatives may think that their family members or friends would have died in the accident, instead of information from the official channels.
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