Doha: The Public Prosecution has launched an inquiry to find the source of rumours of a Nepalese worker being killed and devoured by four of his Vietnamese colleagues, Asian diplomats and legal sources in Doha said.
The Nepalese charge d'affaires in Doha told Gulf News yesterday his mission received a "confirmation" from Qatari police saying that there were no reports of missing Nepalese workers.
"If the incident really happened, the victim would not be one of our citizens," Ram Kaji Khadka said.
The Vietnamese embassy based in Kuwait had threatened in a statement published in Doha that it will press libel or slander charges against parts of the Qatari media over "fictitious" reports.
"Concerning the reports of the murder of a Nep-alese by four Vietnamese who then cannibalised their victim in Qatar, a full-fledged investigation was launched into the fictitious incident. These reports have been confirmed as a hoax and false by concerned authorities of Qatar," the regional Vietnamese embassy based in Kuwait announced in a statement published in Doha in the past two days.
"The Vietnamese side requested that Qatari law enforcement [authority] investigate the source of the story as a precursor to pressing libel or slander charges against the culprits," it said.
"All the news agencies and newspapers, especially those that run the rumours, are kindly requested to release a correction."
Two of the three English dailies here published parts of the communiqué on their inside pages on Saturday. A third one published the denial on its front page on Friday.
According to Al Watan daily, the "flesh of the victim was cut into pieces and later they grilled and ate".
It added that "one of the Vietnamese felt stomach pain and he was admitted to Hamad hospital in Doha. The paper also said that X-ray tests showed human nails and a finger in his stomach, and the hospital filed a police report".
In a front-page headline, The Peninsula said on June 22: "It is true! Four Asians land in jail for cannibalism." Qatar Tribune said in the front page of the next day's edition: "Cannibalism! - Four Asians held for eating a Nepali man".
Another English daily, Gulf Times, however, in its June 25 edition said on the front page: "It is just a rumour, says Nepal embassy."
Authorities in Qatar said that printing such news "would disturb the public security and severely harm the image of Qatar". Qatar hosts a population of almost one million western and Asian nationals, including hundreds of Vietnamese labourers.
Five dailies in Qatar, including two Arabic and two English, reported the incident around three weeks ago.
Reporter questioned
It is now widely believed that the Gulf's 'first ever cannibalism case' did not take place at all. The news was also taken up by leading international news agencies and subsequently printed in many newspapers worldwide.
The inquiry may also include the chief editors and news editors of The Peninsula, Qatar Tribune, Al Sharq, Al Watan, and a Malayalam daily, Asian diplomatic sources said.
The probe may also involve a lawyer, whose name was mentioned by reporters as a factor behind the spread of the news, according to legal sources.
A source close to the lawyer told Gulf News he had advised journalists to wait and check the authenticity of the news before publishing it.
An Indian reporter was the first to be interrogated over the issue as his Malayalam paper was the first to report the news.
The reporter told Gulf News he was questioned for several hours to reveal his sources before he was freed. "I knew about the case from workers in the industrial area and this is no secret," said the reporter.
