Worker flies home after 16 months in hospital

Sharjah: A Bangladeshi labourer who spent the last 16 months on a hospital bed here was flown home yesterday, after receiving his dues at the last moment before travelling.

Murtaj Ali, 32, father of one son has been lying paralysed and unable to speak in the Kuwaiti Hospital after being seriously injured in a construction site accident. Ali fell from the fifth floor of a building under construction while at work. He suffered brain damage and other severe injuries that left him disabled.

An official from Kuwaiti hospital told Gulf News yesterday that the company finally paid Ali Dh30,000 (600,000 Bangladeshi takas) as compensation money for his injuries which was transferred to his wife's bank account in Bangladesh.

Ali worked for Golden Falcon Contracting Company in Sharjah when the accident happened but he was not on the sponsorship of the company. He entered the country on sponsorship of a company whose visa was issued from Sharjah Naturalisation and Residency Department.

Only yesterday Ali's residence visa was cancelled. He entered the country in February 2007 and fell ill after just five months.

Assistance began pouring in after Gulf News reported on Ali's plight.

Ali left for his home country with his brother after receiving help and support from Tareq Abdullah, Public Relations officer at Kuwaiti Hospital, the Ministry of Interior, Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD), Dubai Islamic Bank and Valley of Love Organisation.