Dh500,000 taken from dead Emirati

A bag containing Dh500,000 was taken from a man who was found dead in his car, police say.

SHARJAH // A bag containing Dh500,000 (US$140,000) had been taken from a man who was found dead in his car, police said yesterday. The body of the 61-year-old Emirati, identified as SMS, was found in a Toyota Prado in the Buteena area of Sharjah on July 28. A spokesman for Sharjah Police said SMS had been planning to buy a house in one of the neighbouring emirates on the day he died and had withdrawn Dh500,000 in cash.

An Ethiopian waitress with whom SMS was having an affair has been arrested over his death. The spokesman said officers had established that SMS had met the woman, who worked in a cafe in Buteena, on the day he died. An initial forensic report said he died of natural causes but police, who had initially denied reports of a murder taking place, later learned that he had withdrawn the money. After that discovery, officers started a murder inquiry and ordered further tests to be conducted on the body.

The results of the second forensic examination of the body are expected shortly. Residents told police that SMS had visited the cafe almost daily to meet the woman. Police impounded the car and questioned the man's wife but only the Ethiopian woman has been detained. [e-mail]