RIYADH: Officials in Abha have reopened the case of the possible homicide of Mohammed Imtisam Shamsudeen, a 28-year-old Sri Lankan assistant manager whose partially burned body was found in his apartment on May 9.
“The governorate in Abha asked the Special Crimes Unit to reinvestigate the case when it received the police report that ruled out foul play in the death,” Abdul Lateef Mohammed Lafeer, Sri Lankan consul general in Jeddah, told Arab News.
Shamsudeen worked for Al-Bandar International House for Trading Company for four years before his death. After hearing about his death, relatives in Sri Lanka suspected foul play because Shamsudeen had “unpleasant encounters” with some colleagues at his workplace.
In its report, Abha police ruled out foul play and said that the death was due to a fire that broke out in Shamsudeen’s apartment. The fire was believed to have caused by an electric iron that Shamsudeen forgot to switch off.
Two relatives of the deceased, Mohamed Imran Fawzan and Shamsudeen Sadath, who came from Colombo, met with officials at the governorate on Saturday.
According to Sadath, a senior official from the governorate, told him that the case was reopened after some serious doubts had been raised about the police report.
“Permission for burial will be given only after investigations are completed,” Sadath said. He added that he wanted his brother to be buried in the holy city of Madinah.
Fawzan thanked Shamsudeen’s employers for making visa and travel arrangements for the two relatives and said it helped them, besides seeing the body, understand the progress of the investigation.
After seeing the body and talking to friends of the deceased, Fawzan said that he still suspects foul play.
He said that Shamsudeen had told some of his friends that he had received death threats from a colleague who faced a disciplinary action as a result of a decision taken by Shamsudeen.
Shamsudeen is survived by his wife, Fathima Feroz, and one-year-old daughter, Ayesha.
