DAMMAM, 18 September 2003 — A local hospital here is refusing to release the body of an Indian as the company which employed him has not settled his hospital bills.
K. Ali Kutty was admitted to Al-Mana Hospital in Dammam on July 29 with a pancreatic complaint. He was treated but died on Aug. 12.
There is no question about the quality of treatment or possible negligence. As the death was natural, the man’s next of kin in India expected a prompt burial according to Islamic customs.
The wife of the dead man sent a power of attorney for a relative to take possession of the body and bury it in Dammam.
The hospital administration, however, refused to release the body since it claims that the man’s employer has failed to pay the bill which amounts to more than SR100,000. The hospital administrator confirmed to Arab News that the hospital had not released the body because of the outstanding bill.
Muneer Al-Hamood, the son of the owner of the company which employed the man, denied any dispute over the bill and told Arab News that in a day or two the body would be released and buried.
His statement was made four days ago but the body remains in the hospital morgue.
This case is not an isolated one. In the past there have been many such incidents in which the bodies of expatriates have been in hospital morgues for weeks and months because of failings on the part of their sponsors.
Expatriates say that in such cases the relevant embassies should play a role. “It is their duty to protect, and look after, the interests of their citizens,” said one of Kutty’s relatives. Normally, however, foreign missions in Saudi Arabia are more concerned about bilateral trade and Haj arrangements than the welfare of their citizens who are working here.
