Saudi Embassy Offers Condolences Over Student’s Death In Sydney Assault
Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Australia said that it is following up, along with the concerned Australian authorities, on the circumstances that led to the death of Saudi citizen Mousa Al-Zaher.
In a statement, the Embassy expressed sympathy and offered its sincere condolences to the bereaved family members of the deceased young man Al-Zaher, who was killed at the age of 25.
According to Australian media reports, Al-Zaher, a Saudi student, was allegedly killed in a coward punch attack in a hotel in Southerland, south Sidney on Sunday early morning. Al-Zaher had just recently reached Australia from Saudi Arabia to study and work.
Al-Zaher was working as a part-time security employee. He was on his second shift at the Royal Hotel in Sutherland when he was allegedly punched in the head at 2 am on Sunday, the local media reported quoting his friends. Fatima Jaber, one of his friends, said that she had met him for lunch on the day he was allegedly killed.
Al-Zaher’s colleague Tala Poasa said that his request to a hotel customer to leave the premises in the midnight had allegedly provoked him to attack. “The alleged attacker should have just listened to him when he tapped him on the shoulder and said it was time for him to leave,” he said.
The media reports showed that emergency services were called to the venue and attempted to treat Al-Zaher at the scene but were unable to save him. The alleged attacker, Brian Edmund Brown, 31, had been asked to leave before the assault, according to police sources. Brown, who is believed to have served in the military, was taken to Sutherland Police Station and charged with assault causing death. His case was briefly mentioned at Sutherland Local Court on Monday, but he did not apply for bail and will remain behind bars until his next court appearance in April.
Meanwhile, the hotel where Al-Zaher was working, expressed condolences over his tragic death. “The Royal Hotel Sutherland is deeply saddened by the tragic events that transpired in the early hours of Sunday morning, extending its heartfelt condolences,” it said in a statement.
