KUWAIT CITY, July 18: The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that its investigating units arrested the Egyptian national who was on the run and accused of murdering his spouse, a Philippines’ national, in a saloon in Jabriya.

 The ministry said in a statement police intelligence officers detained the husband, an Egyptian national, 38 years of age, in Bneid Al-Gar area.
 Earlier, clothes of the husband were found in Fahaheel area, it said, noting that the accused man has been referred to the investigation authority.

According to sources close to the victim, the possible motive behind the killing was the decision of the victim to leave her children with her mother in the Philippines. They said she just got back from her home country and the husband allegedly confronted her for depriving him of his right to be with his children. They added the couple had a heated argument over the decision, prompting the suspect to stab his wife several times, which led to her death.

Meanwhile, Mohammed, the watchman of the building where the salon is located, identified the victim as Norhaisa Nasa Andao — a 32-year-old Filipina employee at the salon. He revealed the victim was always fighting with her husband and everybody at the salon is aware of their constant arguments. He said the suspect used to visit the salon frequently to take his wife and their three children (two girls and one boy) to picnics until their relationship soured. He stated Norhaisa left the country about a month ago and took her three children with her but returned to Kuwait without them, adding fuel to the couple’s growing resentment against each other.
Mohammed also mentioned that the victim filed a complaint against her husband in court about 15 days ago and asked for divorce, claiming he is not a suitable husband.

When asked how he knows such details, Mohammed said the victim’s sister, who also works at the salon, told him about the couple’s disagreements. He added a travel ban had been imposed on the suspect as the victim had filed a case against him for allegedly threatening to kill her.
On the day of the killing, Mohammed said he went to a nearby bank to send money to his children in Egypt, and then he received calls from the tenants, telling him about the crime. He hurried back to the building and found the salon surrounded by police officers and detectives.
When Mohammed asked the staff of the salon, they told him the suspect came at 1:00 pm and asked to see his wife in a private area alone. After talking to his wife for about 10 minutes, the suspect allegedly grabbed a knife from his pocket and stabbed his wife more than 31 times in front of the astonished and horrified staff, including her sister, who was shaken by the turn of events and was not able to make any move for some time. The suspect escaped to an unknown destination immediately after the incident, he added.
Affirming the victim was a good person, Mohammed said the owner of the salon ordered its closure for three days.
Another source said the alleged killer dragged the victim by the hair, striking her repeatedly with his fists before taking out a big knife and repeatedly stabbing her.

Then, while the victim was lying on the floor and convulsing, the assailant proceeded to slash her in deliberate strokes slitting her stomach open in the process, unmindful of the other people there; and on seeing that the victim was no longer moving, stood up and hurriedly left.
All this happened while the victim’s co-workers and a lone customer who was there at the time watched in horror before someone had the presence of mind to open the parlor’s windows and shout for help.
It was the customer who reportedly called the police.
This was the eyewitness account of one of those who saw the whole thing but was reluctant at first to divulge any information saying she doesn’t want to be involved in anything regarding the case and later relented but refused to give her name.

According to information gathered from friends and acquaintances, the victim confided to them before that her husband had been on the run for some three months after learning she had filed a complaint with the police for maltreatment and physical abuse.
The victim also reportedly left their house in Nugra after that and lived with friends in fear of her husband.
The day before the killing, a friend of the victim who works in another salon in the same building reportedly saw a man she recognized as the husband sitting by the staircase holding what she said she could make out as a long knife wrapped in a plastic shopping bag.

Workers of a restaurant right across the building where the salon was located, and a nearby bakeshop said they were alerted by the shouts for help coming from the building but did not respond as they did not know what was happening. They said they then saw a man coming down the steps of the building and walking at a normal pace at first before breaking into a run after seeing the growing crowd, leaving his sandals behind in his hurry to leave the place.
The same sources also said that the victim’s husband, the assailant, is somewhere in his late 30s or early forties and is also reportedly jobless.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait is closely coordinating with Kuwaiti authorities to ensure that justice will be served to the two Filipino women who were killed recently in two separate incidents, disclosed Philippine Vice Consul Rea Oreta on Sunday to the Arab Times.
Oreta informed that the Office of the Chief Prosecutor has already issued a warrant arrest for the Egyptian national who stabbed on Saturday his Filipina wife.
“The police have already launched an intensive manhunt against the suspect and issued a travel ban. The Philippine Embassy has also written the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting for assistance to expedite the arrest of the suspect,” she cited.

Oreta also identified the victim as Norhaisa Nasa Andao, 32 and a native of Mindanao. “We only have raw information in our hands as authorities are still investigating on the matter. Initial investigations show that the suspect killed the victim in a fit of jealousy.  Hopefully, everything will come to light soon on what’s the real motive that prompted the suspect to commit such a heinous crime,” pointed out Oreta.
On the other case of the Filipina whose body was found in Kabd area, the Vice Consul revealed that a case was already filed against the Kuwaiti couple who allegedly tortured their Filipina household service worker and ran her over with a car to death in Kabd area. The victim was identified as Asria Samad Abdul, 34 and a native of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao in Southern Philippines.

“Case number 2092010 has been filed against the Kuwaiti couple of Egyptian descent and they are now detained for further investigation. We are monitoring the case and we hope the case would soon be heard at the Court of First Instance following the admission of the couple that they committed the crime,” she stressed.

Oreta disclosed that the bodies of the two Filipinas have been referred to the General Department of Criminal Evidence for forensic examination. “The Philippine Embassy vows to pursue these two cases and we will also do our best to expedite the repatriation of their remains to the Philippines as soon as investigations have been completed,” she stressed.