More 'spit and rob' cases reported in Doha

Close on the heels of an incident near Souq Waqif the other day, another similar incident was reported in the Al Hilal area on Wednesday.An Asian expatriate was robbed of QR7,500, by a man who spat on him before stealing his wallet containing the money near Souq Waqif a few days ago.A similar attempt was made on an Indian office worker in the Hilal Area near the Gulf Cinema signals on Wednesday evening. However, due to the alertness of the potential victim, the fraudster's bid was foiled.Narrating his experience, he said he was walking towards his car after withdrawing money from an ATM nearby. "As I reached a deserted place near the parking lot, a person who was following me drew suddenly close and spat on me. As I have heard about this modus operandi, I immediately shouted at him and resisted his attempt to wipe the spit off my blazer. By that time, a pedestrian was approaching from the opposite side and the motorists passing by also began to take note. The fraudster ran away in the commotion."Gulf Times had earlier reported similar experiences of victims who had told stories of their "pockets being picked" by thugs at locations near the Doha Bus Station.In an earlier story in this newspaper, a person was reported to have lost a hefty QR22,500 after a man spat 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.The victim had said he was "robbed" when he was returning from an exchange house. He said he had kept the money in one of the lower front pockets of his cargo trouser.Another victim, who lost QR3,500 in another incident had 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," the victim had told this newspaper. He said he was going to an exchange house near the "Sword Signal" when he had the encounter with the trickster.