Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — A private hospital kept the corpse of an expatriate elderly man for more than four days because his family delayed in paying the hospital SR257,000 that was owed for his release, Al-Hayat reported.

Miad Bakr said her deceased father was admitted to the hospital on an emergency 25 days ago and died due to illness last Wednesday.

“He was in a critical health condition and he passed away last Wednesday due to cancer after it quickly spread through out his body. We went to the hospital the moment we heard the news. The hospital refused to complete the procedure of releasing his corpse until we meet the expenses of his treatment,” said Bakr.

She added she met with the manager of the hospital to negotiate the situation and the manager told her that they only have two options.

“He told me that I have to either sign a warranty document to pay SR257,000 or pay SR150,000 after discounts in cash. He said that these are the orders of the founder of the hospital. I went straight to the Ministry of Health and filed a complaint but to no avail. I went to the police and they asked me to bring a proposal from the hospital stating the case,” said Bakr.

She added the police told her that they are not the right directorate to entertain her issue and that she should take her issue up with the Ministry of Health. For every day the corpse is held at the hospital, the price Bakr has to pay increases.

Legal Consultant Mohammad Al-Husni said hospitals do not have the right to withhold a corpse due to the delay in payment. “Such an action is illegal and the hospital will be subjected to legal punishment,” he said.

“The family of the deceased can report the case by calling 937 and the ministry should immediately take action and defend the family of the deceased. The ministry should be the mediator between the hospital and the family of the deceased to figure out the best way to pay the dues but the process of the deceased corpse’s burial should never be impeded,” added Al-Husni.