JEDDAH: The New Zealand Embassy in Riyadh yesterday decried the inaccurate reporting by Saudi media of the death of a Saudi citizen in Hamilton last month.
In a press statement yesterday, the embassy asked the media to direct any question about the case to the New Zealand police and said the cause of the Saudi’s death has not yet been officially determined.
“The statement addresses the inaccuracies in the reporting of the tragic death of Fahd Ibrahim Alsalamah following an accident involving a police car chase in Hamilton on Oct. 18, 2008,” the embassy said.
According to the statement, the body of Alsalamah was found near Hamilton in the Waikato River on Oct. 28, 10 days after he was reported missing. It said because there was no evidence of foul play or any sign of an attack, the police did not launch a homicide investigation and added that instead, the case was referred to the coroner to determine the cause of his death.
“The New Zealand police have confirmed that there were no bullet holes found on the body during the autopsy, which was delayed so that the Saudi-appointed pathologist, Dr. Salah Tubaigy, head of forensic medicine at the general administration of criminal evidence in Saudi Arabia, could participate in it,” the statement said.
A Saudi police team also arrived in New Zealand to investigate the death in collaboration with their counterparts and added that the New Zealand police liaised closely with the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Canberra while investigating the death of the Saudi citizen. Members of the Saudi’s family also traveled to New Zealand and met with the coroner and the police.
“The embassy officials were in contact with the Saudi authorities. New Zealand Ambassador Dr. Trevor Matheson has spoken to Alsalamah’s family and passed over his condolences and those of his government to them,” the statement said.
