YANBU, 25 June 2007 — Madinah Governor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majid has called for an investigation into the case of a man, whose dead body remained unclaimed in various Saudi morgues for over a year following a hospital mistake in correctly registering his name and age.
Taxi driver Eid Hamad Salim Al-Arawi, 55, left home for work and to sell goods to pilgrims at the Holy Mosque in Madinah over 12 months ago. However, unknown to his family, Eid fell ill and somehow arrived at Madinah’s King Fahd Hospital where he died two hours after arriving.
“He didn’t return home and we looked for him everywhere. We just couldn’t find him. We informed the police and they in turn informed all police offices and hospitals,” said Eid’s cousin Salih ibn Musaed Al-Arawi.
For 12 months, the Al-Arawi family continued their search for Eid, traveling as far as Makkah looking for the 55-year-old taxi driver. “We were told that he was seen in Makkah. It was proven by the Saudi Public Transport Company that he went there but we couldn’t find him there. Later on (over 12 months later) we received a telephone call telling us that there is a body at Al-Meekat Hospital and that it might be Eid’s,” said Salih.
Eid’s body had in fact remained unclaimed at the King Fahd Hospital for six months and had then been transferred to the Al-Meekat Hospital because of a lack of space. “We didn’t know anything about him until after an entire year. That is after the body had spent six months at the King Fahd Hospital and another six months at the Al-Meekat Hospital,” said Salih.
He added that the problem was caused by an employee at the King Fahd Hospital, who misspelled Eid’s name as Eid “Ahmad” Salim Al-Arawi and registered his age as 80.
Following the discovery of Eid’s body, the Al-Arawi family consulted Madinah Governor Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majid and has called for an investigation into the matter. The family is also refusing to accept Eid’s body until an investigation is carried out.
The Al-Arawi family’s case has also drawn the attention of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR). Bander Al-Hajjar, head of the NSHR, said that the society would be contacting the King Fahd Hospital, the Al-Meekat Hospital and the Medical Affairs Office in Madinah. He added that the NSHR would be visiting Madinah to gather necessary information on the case.
The Al-Arawi family is currently demanding to know who brought Eid to hospital, what the cause of his death was and whether he was a victim of a crime. Moreover, the family wants the authorities to punish those responsible for the mistake, which they say has delayed the marriage of his three daughters and hampered the education of his sons.
