KUWAIT: The interior ministry’s relations and security media department yesterday announced the arrest of a citizen who brutally assaulted an Egyptian worker. The video of the beating was uploaded on social media, causing outrage. The owner of a store where the Egyptian worked filed a case at Shuwaikh industrial area police station, and detectives arrested the owner of the vehicle seen in the store’s surveillance video. But the man denied the charges and claimed that the assailant was his friend. He was nevertheless detained for further investigations. Late yesterday, the assailant was arrested in Salwa, and admitted to beating the salesman.

“It’s the staff’s lunchtime now,” was all that the Egyptian said when the Kuwaiti customer got enraged and beat him savagely, knocking him down and kicking his head several times, said security sources. They added the assailant was restrained by coworkers, but he returned with a large rod and repeatedly hit the prone salesman in the face. The worker was rushed to Sabah Hospital with serious injuries. The interior ministry statement yesterday said the victim was now out of the ICU and was being treated at the hospital after his condition became stable.

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Egyptian Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram decided to fly in today to visit the victim, identified as Waheed Mahmoud Al-Refae Hassan, who hails from Alexandria. Makram also contacted Egyptian Ambassador to Kuwait Tareq Al-Qouni and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt Mohammed Al-Thuwaikh to follow up on the latest developments.

Makram expressed regret over what she described as ‘individual incidents’ against Egyptians, stressing these will not affect the good Egyptian-Kuwaiti relations. Makram called Qouni to inquire about Waheed’s condition, adding the ministry was closely following the situation with the Kuwaiti authorities. Qouni informed Makram that embassy staff immediately visited the victim in hospital and found that his condition had stabilized. Meanwhile, Thuwaikh expressed grief over such ‘individual incidents’, adding the embassy was ready to provide the Egyptian ministry of immigration with all the help needed to protect the young Egyptian’s rights.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun & A Saleh