Manama: An Egyptian worker in a Kuwait workshop was lucky to be alive after he was savagely beaten and mercilessly kicked by a Kuwaiti client.
Waheed Mahmood Rafae was in the workshop in the Shuwaikh industrial area when a well-built man entered and asked for a spare part for his motorcycle.
He told him that the men in charge were taking their lunch break and that he would be served later.
“However, he insisted on getting the spare part there and then and his inappropriate manner indicated he was not in a normal condition,” Waheed said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Rai on Thursday.
“He seemingly did not like what I said and surprised me with a punch and a barrage of insults, taking advantage of his physical power. I tried to calm him down, but he continued his onslaught, threw me down on the floor and hit me on the head with a motorcycle battery. I lost consciousness and woke up to find myself in Al Sabah Hospital where I was admitted initially in the Intensive Care Unit.”
The expatriate said he realised how ferocious the attack was only after he watched the video taken by the surveillance camera in the workshop.
“I was shocked and astonished by what happened. I have lived in Kuwait for years, but I have never been exposed to such incident or even less dangerous. I have very fond impressions of Kuwaitis and this isolated incident does not reflect their character. The authorities have promised to arrest the culprit,” he said.
The Interior Ministry said that they have arrested the aggressor after they could identify the driver of the car that took him to the workshop.
“We questioned the driver and he said that his friend had attacked the Egyptian man and provided details about him,” a spokesperson said. “The police arrested the culprit in his house in Salwa and he admitted he had beaten up the man. He was kept in custody, pending investigation.”
The Egyptian consulate condemned in a statement the attack on the Egyptian citizen, pledging to provide all required assistance and support.
The aggression was also condemned by lawmakers in the Egyptian parliament who called for a full investigation.
Immigration Minister Nabeela Makram said she would fly to Kuwait to visit Waheed at the hospital.
Egyptians make up the largest Arab community in Kuwait with around 700,000 people.
