Emirati man found dead in Manila hotel room

The dead man, believed to be from Al Ain, had not been seen since Monday.

DUBAI // An Emirati man has been found dead in a hotel room in Manila, say police in the Philippines.

The victim, identified as 49-year-old Ali Mohammed Karam Ghuloum Al Baloushi, was discovered early on Thursday, slumped on the bed in a decomposed state.

"The body has been sent for autopsy to find out the cause of the death. Investigations are under way," said officer Jose Gumilan of the Manila Police District's homicide section.

Al Baloushi's body was discovered at around 12.30am on Thursday by employees of the Sandico Apartelle, a budget hotel in Manila's Malate area.

Police said they suspected Al Baloushi had died of natural causes, saying they found no external injuries on the body.

"No one has come forward to claim the body and the UAE embassy in Manila has been informed about the incident," he said.

He said Al Baloushi had a visit visa in his passport and had been staying in the rented hotel room for almost a month.

"We don't have information about his family background," he said.

Al Baloushi was last seen alive by hotel employees around 4am on Monday, January 30, but had not left his room since then.

After noticing a bad smell coming from his room, hotel employees called the police who first knocked on the his door then, when there was no response from inside, used a duplicate key to enter.

The UAE Embassy in Manila said it was trying to notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abu Dhabi so it can inform the family about his death.

He said Al Baloushi's passport was issued in Al Ain and it showed his year of birth as 1963.

"We are trying to repatriate the body as soon as possible - probably by Tuesday," said Chito Conlu, spokesman at the UAE Embassy in Manila. "Investigations showed there was no foul play and he died due to natural causes. He is a UAE national."