Lankan youth stabbed to death

Mohammed RASOOLDEEN

A Sri Lankan youth was found murdered in a residential workers' camp in Al Salama District in the Western province Tuesday, the Sri Lankan consulate in Jeddah told the Daily News yesterday.

According to an official from the consulate, Mohammed Muhsin Intikab, 24, was the victim in a gang fight comprising mostly Sri Lankan workers in a private establishment.

The official said that Intikab had been asked to come desperately by a friend to save him from a gang which was assaulting him at the time. "When Intikab appeared at the spot, the opposing gang had stabbed him and the victim succumbed to his injuries on the spot," the official said.

The police have arrested 11 suspects, mostly Sri Lankan workers, in connection with the murder. Police said that they yet to identify the persons involved and find the real motive for homicide.

Medical authorities at the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah said there were five wounds on the chest and abdomen as a result of stabbing. The body is lying at the Jeddah city morgue and the forensic department has not completed its examination, the official said.

The official said that Intikab was alleged to be a runaway worker who had come to Jeddah from Riyadh.

"He had been doing odd jobs in Jeddah to make ends meet," he said, pointing out that the deceased, a bachelor, who was the breadwinner in the family, had come to the Kingdom last year to earn some money to give his only sister in marriage.

He said that the family members had already given their consent to bury the deceased in Jeddah. However, he added that the consulate cannot take any action till the authorities clear the body on completion of the investigations.

Around 150,000 Sri Lankan workers are in the Western province, and their welfare is looked after by their consulate in Jeddah.

The official said that around 50 runaway workers report to the Jeddah mission daily complaining ill-treatment by sponsors, non-payment of salaries and imposing work beyond their limits.