Saudi Gazette

Jeddah — An expat worker, whose dead body had been lying for the past three years in a morgue in Al-Khobar, was finally buried in Dammam on Friday.

All these years the authorities concerned had been trying to contact the family members of the dead worker, but their efforts failed because of the discrepancy in personal particulars in the passport of the deceased.

However, social media helped in locating the dead worker’s relatives, who were unaware of the tragedy and were awaiting his return.

The expatriate had been lived in the Kingdom for over 22 years. He visited his home 12 years ago prior to his death.

Koya Moochi Kadavanpaikt, 54, hailing from Kozhikode district in Kerala in India, according to passport particulars, breathed his last in a private hospital in Al-Khobar in 2015 after chronic illness. Since then his mortal remains were kept at the hospital.

As no one came forward to claim the body, it was later shifted to a government hospital morgue.

Police and hospital officials contacted Nass Shoukat Ali Vokkam, a known social worker based in Dammam, to locate the relatives of the deceased.

“We ran a thorough search of Koya’s family back home in Kerala with the support of government officials as per the address mentioned in his passport but of no avail. Even extensive media coverage failed to trace family members of the deceased,” Vokkam said.

“Then we sought the help of social media that yielded positive results. One person in Al-Khobar identified the deceased as Hasanair Kunji hailing from Kasargod district bordering Karnataka state. We were able to trace the family and obtained legal consent for his burial in the Kingdom.”

“The family was unaware that he was dead. His mother even postponed marriages of her three sons, insisting that they should be married only in the presence of their elder brother,” according to family sources.

After long and anxious wait, the mother died without seeing her Saudi-based son nor was she able to see the marriages of any of her three sons.