Doha
A new modus operandi of fraudsters to rob people on Doha's streets has come to light.
Two victims who narrated their stories to Gulf Times had similar experiences when their "pockets were picked" by thugs last week.
One of them said he lost a hefty QR22,500 after a man spit on him and then offered to wipe off the spittle, all the while profusely apologising for the "indeliberate" but "uncivilised" act.
The victim, a businessman, realised he had become poorer by such a large amount only after a while, when he searched his pocket for the money.
According to him, he was "robbed" when he was returning from an exchange house where he had gone to remit some money to an account in a Dubai bank. He said he had kept the remaining money in one of the lower front pockets of his cargo trouser.
Another victim, who lost QR3,500, said a trickster threw something on his face that left his eyes moist in no time. He said he also noticed spit on the lower half of his long cargo trouser.
"In no time, the fraudster bowed down and started wiping off the saliva with a piece of cloth. After some time I realised that the front pocket of my trouser was torn and I had lost the entire money I was carrying."
He said he was going to an exchange house near the Sword Signal when he had the unfortunate encounter with the trickster.
Both the incidents have been reported to the police.
According to sources, the miscreants are operating mainly on busy roads, around money exchanges and mostly over weekends.
