KUWAIT: Five Kuwaitis and 16 Egyptians were in custody yesterday in connection with the raging brawl that resulted in the death of an Egyptian expat outside a shopping mall in Hawally on Saturday night, the Ministry of Interior's Relations and Security Media Department said yesterday. The statement said investigations are currently underway and two Kuwaitis and ten Egyptians were arrested yesterday taking the total number of suspects to 21 for their involvement in the fight and the macabre killing that created a state of chaos in the area, terrifying passersby and blocking the traffic.

The department added that all technical methods were being pursued to identify the suspects involved in the crime and that those who violated laws and regulations would be punished.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid said that the Kuwaiti authorities had arrested the citizens involved in murdering the Egyptian during the fight in Hawally between Egyptians and Kuwaitis. He added that the deceased Egyptian's corpse had already arrived in Egypt for burial.

Speaking on a television channel yesterday, Abu Zaid said that the Egyptian foreign ministry was following the investigations that are currently underway. He said the culprits would be punished for their crimes.

He denied any leniency on the side of the Kuwaiti authorities towards the culprits. "They have shown full cooperation", he said pointing out that the Egyptian consulate in Kuwait managed to interfere in the matter and stop deportation of 14 Egyptians detained in connection with the fight on the grounds that both sides had violated the law and that an investigation was still in progress.

By A Saleh