RP post in Kuwait looking for kin of Filipino who killed self

The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is looking for the family and relatives of a Filipino worker who reportedly committed suicide there in May this year. In a report in Kuwait-based Arab Times, the Embassy identified the worker as Victorio Belarmino Rioveros, 49 years old and a native of Sta. Cruz town in Marinduque province. Rioveros’ death certificate indicated that he died of asphyxia. The Arab Times report said he was found hanging from a tree in Salmiya district last May 30. The report further said the Embassy discovered Rioveros’ death after a staff member, who was following up the release of the body of another dead Filipino from the Ministry of Interior for repatriation, was informed of the alleged suicide. Based on a company document obtained by the Embassy, Rioveros was a former employee of Al Homaizi Foodstuff Company. So far none of Rioveros’ family and relatives has come forward, the report said. The Embassy is urging anyone who has information about Rioveros or his relatives or friends to contact the Philippine Embassy through mobile hotline No. 6518-4433 or landline No. 2534-9099, and ask to speak to any Assistance to Nationals (ATN) officers. “We will do our best to return the deceased to his family and loved ones and we will exhaust all means to locate and find them," the Arab Times report quoted an Embassy official as saying. The same unidentified official added the body has yet to be buried to avoid the “added expense" of having it exhumed if someone from his family or friends eventually comes forward to claim the body. Meanwhile, the remains of Asria Samad Abdul, the Filipina domestic helper who was allegedly murdered by her employers, was finally repatriated Thursday afternoon, a few days after the Public Prosecution granted its clearance, the same Arab Times report said. Abdul, a Maguindanao native, was allegedly tortured to death by her Egyptian-born Kuwaiti employers early July. Her body was left in the Kabd desert area and was recovered by the police last July 17, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Abdul’s employers, identified by the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait as spouses Abdulaziz al Falekh and Rabagh Mustafa Sahata, already admitted to the crime and are currently facing criminal charges for her murder. Her case, according to the report, has yet to be submitted to the court as the prosecution’s probe into the incident has yet to be completed. - KBK, GMANews.TV