JEDDAH, 29 March 2006 — Police arrested yesterday the last of three South Asian suspects linked to a body found 10 days ago in a remote desert area located in the backyard of Al-Ajwad district in the east of Jeddah. According to police, the three suspects are Pakistani nationals and one of them turned out to be the victim’s brother.
Police said they encountered a corpse in the area where it was being eaten by dogs. Police found no identification papers on the body.
“Underneath the corpse we found an account book that had numbers and names of workshops and people working in those workshops, plus money revenues and debits,” said a source speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that the shops are located in Al-Qumra in the north of Jeddah.
Undercover police were dispatched to the area a few days ago. They discovered that a small explosion involving a gas tank had occurred a month ago and as a result a Pakistani worker had been severely injured. Following that lead, investigators discovered that two people had taken the injured Pakistani to a rented house.
The two men renting the house told police that they feared taking the Pakistani to the hospital because he was living in the country illegally. They also led police to the dead man’s brother who, according to the police report, had accompanied his wounded brother to the house where he allegedly died from his injuries six days later.
“They were afraid to take him to a hospital or provide him with medical care so he was left to die,” said the source.
After the man died, his brother flew back to Jizan where he works and carries a valid iqama, as if nothing had happened, said the source.
Police arrested the two men three days ago and requested that authorities in Jizan extradite the brother, who was handed over to Jeddah authorities yesterday.
