Drug charge man found dead in wheelchair outside Dubai hospital

Emirati charged over possessing and consuming tramadol had been dragged along ground and left in wheelchair after morphine overdose.

DUBAI // A man who missed his court hearings on a charge of possessing a mind-altering substance was found dead in a wheelchair in a hospital car park.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours was told that Emirati K A, 29, who failed to attend court hearings on a charge of possessing tramadol for his own use, was found in the wheelchair outside Al Baraha hospital in Dubai.

A medical report revealed he had overdosed on morphine.

He had bruises on his face and chest. Scratches on his back indicated that his body had been dragged along the ground after his death.

A Dh100 bill and two keys were found in his back pocket, and tablets were found in his Land Cruiser, police records show.

His house was searched for three hours after his arrest and hundreds of tramadol tablets, as well as opiates, were found. “Two syringes were found in his house, as well as tear gas and sharp weapons,” stated the police report.

Records show that K A was arrested on November 20 last year near his home in Al Manama after a tip-off that he had drugs there.

During investigations, K A denied using or possessing drugs.

He said he had been involved in one drugs incident in 2009 but nothing since.

“Results to my urine test came back negative. I didn’t take any drugs,” K A had testified.

When prosecutors accused him of using his home as a drugs den for addicts, he denied it, saying he knew nothing about the drugs seized from his bedroom.

“It was not found in my room but in another room in the house,” he told prosecutors.

He was released on bail and referred to court on a charge of possessing and using tramadol.

He missed court hearings and, on July 4, was found in a wheelchair in the hospital car park.

The court dismissed the case against him.