iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Eight teams will compete in this groundbreaking event and more than 10,000 spectators are expected to witness the inaugural edition
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Suspect in Suzan murder arrested
DUBAI - An Arab national has been arrested in connection with the murder of Lebanese singer Suzan Tamim who was found with her throat slit in her apartment in Dubai last month, police said on Sunday.
Though the police did not identify the man or the country where he was arrested, an official who spoke with Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity said he was an Egyptian, and was arrested from a Cairo hotel. The man was hired by a businessman to kill her for $2 million. Khaleej Times could not independently confirm this.
The 31-year-old popular singer was found dead in her apartment in Al Rimal Tower of the Jumeirah Beach Residences on July 28. The suspect fled the country 90 minutes after the murder.
Addressing a press conference in Dubai on Sunday, Acting Chief of Dubai Police, Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, did not divulge the details about the 39-year-old suspect but said he was arrested in an Arab country. The Dubai Police have requested his extradition as soon as possible.
Al Mazeina said the case has ended, but the investigations are on in the country where he was arrested to determine the motive of the murder. The suspect's extradition to the UAE would depend on the legal system of the Arab country with which "we share good relations and cooperation in this case," Al Mazeina said.
Another police official, however, disclosed to Khaleej Times that the Egyptian suspect was arrested 48 hours after the murder in Dubai.
The suspect is a retired police official and was currently employed as a security official for a hotel owned by a prominent Egyptian businessman.
He said the man was arrested by the Egyptian police from a swimming pool of a hotel in Cairo on July 30. He has already confessed to the crime which he allegedly carried out at the behest of a prominent Egyptian businessman for $2 million.
The official said the suspect fled the UAE 90 minutes after the murder, but the police tracked him down with the help of evidence collected from the crime scene.
Al Mazeina told reporters that the man posed as a real estate agent to gain entry into the singer's apartment and carried out the killing in just over 12 minutes.
“Six Dubai CID officials travelled to the Arab country and handed over all relevant documents to the authorities there. The investigations are is under way in the Arab country in coordination with Dubai Police,” he said.
Al Mazeina said the murder came to light when the singer's cousin called the police around 4pm on July 28 after he found the singer's stabbed and decapitated body in her apartment.
The singer's cousin apparently felt suspicious when nobody answered the phone on Monday morning (July 28) and when he learnt that Suzan had not gone for her driving lessons. Going over to the singer's apartment, the cousin was shocked to find the door to the flat open and her body lying in a pool of blood.
The Dubai Police set up 60 teams to investigate the murder. Based on her cousin's report that Suzan had always been very cautious about opening her apartment door to strangers, Al Mazeina said, the police were convinced that the murderer was either known to the victim or she was tricked into opening the door to a complete stranger.
The building's closed circuit TV cameras had spotted the suspect. The records showed that the man had arrived in Dubai only two days before the murder took place. Although, we had closed in on the suspect, it was difficult to identify him completely because his face was covered in the camera clippings.
After committing the crime, the suspect threw away the clothes near the fire safety box on the 21st floor of the building and changed into a new outfit. The suspect also changed his travel schedule purchasing new tickets and fled the country, Al Mazeina said.
After her divorce from Ali Manzaz, Suzan had married Lebanese producer Adel Matooq but the second marriage, too hit the rocks very soon. To get away from the string of cases filed by her second husband, Matooq, she travelled secretly to Egypt from Lebanon. Eight months ago, she disappeared from Egypt only to surface in the UAE about a month ago.
Khaleej Times has learnt that Matooq had alleged attempts on his life by Suzan with the help of others in 2004. Matooq suffered injuries when some unknown assailants shot at him outside his office in Beirut. He alleged that an Egyptian businessman, with whom Suzan was having an affair, was behind the attack. The matter is still in court. Matooq also declined to divorce Suzan.
More news from UAE
Following the country's heaviest recorded rainfall, hospitals and clinics throughout the UAE have witnessed a surge in waterborne illnesses
The Skyphone's primary target market is humanitarian missions teams, including those working with the United Nations
At the gathering, authorities also announced the establishment of a new training centre for the humanitarian sector
The authority has strictly forbidden people from drinking the stagnant water or cooking using it
The ‘Tadhamon’ (solidarity) campaign will allow private sector entities, businesses and members of society to make contributions
Crown-of-thorns starfish are predators that can devastate coral reefs if their population is left unchecked
Many residents of the emirate's Al Suyoh community were relocated to hotels after a raging wadi swept across their neighbourhood during the records rains last week
