The article title reads: "Kuwaiti Military Man Dies After Youth Smashes Head With Stone"
Primarily, one would be sympathetic with the military man, as the title does not elude to any fact other than that he fell victim to a youth.
That is not the main reason behind my comments; the article goes on to read as follows:
KUWAIT CITY, May 27: A 21-year old Kuwaiti military personnel died after a youth smashed his head with a stone in Umm Al-Hayman area. Apparently, the 16-year old boy knew the deceased citizen who had invited him for a jolly-ride inside his car and tried to molest him near a power generator where the boy hit his head with a stone and rendered him unconscious.
The boy is said to have rushed home to inform the family about the incident and they called the Operations Room to report immediately.
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Acting on the distress call, paramedics accompanied a team of securitymen to the scene to examine the military personnel who had already died as a result of severe head injury, and so Criminal Evidences men referred the corpse to Forensics.
Meanwhile, during intaerrogation, the youth stressed he had acted on self defense, as the deceased citizen tried to molest him near the power generator, and that he only agreed to ride with the man because he knew him. Criminal Evidences men have taken the stone for analysis, while the youth has been detained for further investigation.
So far so good right? Everything has been played by the book. Or so it seemed, until the following [GRAPHIC] image is entered into the mix.
The post on Arab Times is located (here)
Caution is advised when viewing this image...
There are several inconsistencies in this, but the one that draws my attention the most is the barbaric nature of the photograph, and the sadistic mentality behind its inception.
Reading the sequence of events, the military man (MM) invites the 16-year old (MINOR) into his car for a joy-ride (where on earth does the Arab Times get its phrases, Jolly ride?), during which, an incident occurs that lead the Minor to bash in the MM head with a stone. (It is not my position to take sides, as this is an unbiased report)
This indicates that the Minor escaped from the vehicle, the MM gave chase, and judging by the positioning of the body in the picture (assuming the body was not moved post-mortem) was rendered unconscious as he tried in vain to get back into his vehicle as a result of the attack with the stone.
The story goes on; the Minor escapes and rushes to his home, informs his family of the events that had transpired, they in turn inform the operations department who go to the scene.
It is now a circus, with all of the following in attendance: paramedics, security men and criminal evidence men.
It is not mentioned that the Minor also accompanied the operations department.
However, it is evident from the photograph that he did.
At which point, the sadistic person behind the photograph figures it is a good idea to handcuff the Minor to the corpse of the now deceased MM.
Has that sunk in? Handcuffing a minor to a corpse for a photograph.
How is this sound judgement/ reporting?
If this were the US, whoever was behind this image would be subjected to a myriad of charges - mental anguish and scaring, endangering a minor, brutality/ cruelty etc.
My main question remains, what would possess someone to take such a photograph, and for a newspaper like Arab Times to actually publish it?
What strikes me as odd is the fact that the Youth's arms are still covered in blood and dirt, as are his clothes. I do not know about you, but I always wash my hands when I get home, or when I handle anything that has dust all over it. Wouldn't it have been the parents first instinct to ask their son to wash up upon returning home and reciting his horrid tale? Again, something does not add up.
And on a lighter note, take a look @ this:
Kuwaiti Rescued In Lebanon - Ramson Paid 350,000 Dollars.KUWAIT CITY, May 28: Lebanese security authorities have liberated a Kuwaiti man and arrested his kidnapper, reports Al-Rai daily.
Lebanon-based MTV channel said the Kuwaiti was kidnapped last Tuesday and security authorities, after pursuing the outgoing and incoming telephone calls before and after receiving the ransom, arrested the suspect and released the kidnapped Kuwaiti.
The Kuwaiti was held hostage for three days and the kidnapper had initially demanded a ransom of one million dollars, but later settled for 350,000 dollars.
Lebanon-based MTV channel said the Kuwaiti was kidnapped last Tuesday and security authorities, after pursuing the outgoing and incoming telephone calls before and after receiving the ransom, arrested the suspect and released the kidnapped Kuwaiti.
I was breaking my head attempting to figure out what Ramson meant, whether it was a person who stepped in to pay $350,000. For one of the leading English dailies in Kuwait to have such an obvious typo is beyond me. What ever happened to professionalism?
It seems that the Arab Times website is in serious need of a tune-up, I believe I am one of many who rely on online websites for their daily news; I check BBC for the international scene and Arab Times for the local scene, why I continue to do so despite their obvious lack of professionalism is beyond me, I believe it rests solely on the fact that they have no competition in this circle.
authors note: this post is not meant to degrade or defame Arab Times Newspaper, a well established and respected daily in Kuwait, however it is meant to draw attention to the minor flaws that, if rectified, can serve to enhance its current position.
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