Mystery shrouds suicide in Dubai jail

DUBAI: A young Emirati prisoner serving time for a string of cases committed suicide shortly after being sent to a solitary confinement cell at Dubai Central Jail.

K.A., who was sentenced to 50 years in jail for rape, assault and attempted murder killed himself under mysterious circumstances last month. Official sources said K.A. was sent to solitary confinement as he had stabbed a policeman with a screwdriver. Earlier, he had also started a fire in jail. "He was unstable and often threatened to kill himself," said a source.

"He suffocated himself," he said.

Both incidents -- the screwdriver attack and the suicide - were caught on a surveillance camera.

However, officials declined to comment on how K.A. killed himself or managed to obtain the screwdriver.