DFA: No murdered Pinoy couple in Kuwait

Philippine officials in Kuwait have denied reports that a Filipino couple was brutally murdered there last month, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sunday. The DFA quoted Kuwaiti authorities as saying that there had been no report of violent deaths involving Filipinos there in the past month. "According to the Kuwaiti authorities, there has been no report of violent death involving Filipinos in the past month. The Embassy would have been duly informed by the local authorities in case there is such an incident," the DFA said in its website. It said Philippine Ambassador Shulan Primavera met with Kuwait-based journalists to set the record straight. The reports said a Filipino couple was supposedly murdered in Salmiya, Kuwait. Primavera informed the reporters that upon receiving reports on the alleged murder, Assistance to Nationals (ATN) officers went to the Department of Forensic Evidence of the Ministry of Interior, the Salmiya Police Station, the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to confirm the veracity of the report. However, Primavera requested anyone with personal knowledge of the alleged incident to coordinate with the Embassy. He said this would help in the prosecution of the suspects, and to enable the Embassy to provide appropriate assistance to the victims' families. In the meantime, he advised the public to refrain from disseminating hearsay information in the absence of sufficient evidence and credible witnesses. He added such irresponsible behavior not only causes undue fear and anxiety among the members of the Filipino community but also projects a negative image of Kuwait to the public. "The Ambassador emphasized that Filipinos must be cautious in dealing with hearsay information, so as not to cause misinformation and undue public alarm," the DFA said. - KBK, GMANews.TV