Police appeal to public to identify man

DUBAI // Police have appealed to the public in a bid to identify a diabetic man who died in custody at Al Qusais police station after he was mistakenly thought to be drunk.

The man was found by workers in a semi-conscious state in Al Khawaneej 1 on December 22, and was reported to police.

Lt Col Aref Abu Shakra, the director of Al Qusais police station, said the station received a report at around 11.40am on that day and a patrol was immediately sent to the scene, along with an ambulance and paramedics.

"The man was almost unconscious and was in a state similar to drunkenness. We could not make any sense of what he was saying. Paramedics at the scene could not find any health complications and assumed he was drunk," said Lt Col Abu Shakra.

"He was taken to the police station where his situation quickly worsened. Within 20 minutes the man was dead," he said.

Forensic results determined the cause of death to be diabetes-related complications, and confirmed there was no trace of alcohol in the man's body.

Police are investigating the procedures followed by the paramedics to determine what action should be followed.

"We have requested the medical reports and the paramedics procedure records in order to be able to determine what exactly happened on that day," said Lt Col Abu Shakra

"Based on our findings, we will take the necessary actions.".

After trying all possible channels to identify the man, Dubai Police have released a picture of him. He is believed to have been from an Asian country, was of medium height and between the ages of 28 and 33.

Police have asked that anyone with any information concerning his identity contact the operation room on 04-6095555 or Al Qusais Police Station on 04-2631111.