KUWAIT: Kuwait police are investigating a bizarre case in which a woman is accused of keeping her daughter's body inside her apartment for five years, before officers made the grim discovery a few days ago. The case was first brought to police's attention when a Kuwaiti man told Salmiya police station officers that his mother has kept his sister's body in the bathroom of their apartment for five years, and only skeletal remains are left. The public prosecution called the mother, her son who reported the matter and his brother for questioning about this unusual case, Al-Qabas Arabic daily reported yesterday quoting sources familiar with the investigation.

When detectives went to the apartment, they found the daughter's body in a small room with a bathroom, which was sealed with wood and difficult to open. The room was not opened for years and was full of dust. Sources said inspection by detectives and forensics personnel of the apartment revealed that the mother had covered the central air-conditioning vents with plastic so that the noxious odor of the decomposing corpse did not reach the rest of the building. She then installed many air-conditioning units to maintain good ventilation and prevent the odor from spreading, according to the sources.

The prosecution ordered the release of the son who sounded the alarm and detained his mother and brother at Salmiya police station until investigations are complete and the coroner's report is issued about the cause of death. Meanwhile, another security source quoted in the report said the investigator noticed that the mother, who is a cancer patient, and her two sons were not behaving normally when questioned.

Separately, the same newspaper reported yesterday that the alleged armed robber of a Jahra bank told detectives he planned to rob another bank in Farwaniya after committing the first robbery. But after waiting for a long-time monitoring security arrangement, he said that he changed his mind because he was afraid of being arrested, according to the report. He then went to Hawally and hid in a hotel before he was arrested. The suspect was sent to the public prosecution on several charges. He also led detectives to the stolen money and the knife used in the crime. The suspect is a drug addict and has a criminal record.