DUBAI // The death of two children last week initially believed to be a case of severe food poisoning has become a criminal matter after police remanded the case to the Public Prosecution yesterday.
"We have the case but can't give any more details until Sunday," a spokesman for the Public Prosecution said yesterday. "The police have conducted their investigations, and it's now with us."
Dubai Municipality was expected to publish the results of laboratory and autopsy tests in the deaths of the children, but no report was released. Instead, the matter was passed on to Dubai Police.
In a statement, it said: "Dubai Municipality has already sent the report of the test it has conducted in its Dubai Central Laboratory to the Dubai Police authorities.
Now, any statement regarding this will be issued by Dubai Police only. Dubai Municipality will not be talking about this."
Dubai Police declined to comment further.
Nathan D'Souza, aged five, his eight-year-old sister Chelsea, their mother and a housemaid became ill last Friday night after eating a meal delivered from a restaurant serving Chinese food in Al Qusais.
Although they were all treated at the New Medical Centre Speciality Hospital and released, Nathan and Chelsea were later brought back to the hospital, where Nathan was pronounced dead. Chelsea died on Sunday.
shafez@thenational.ae