Funeral prayers were held at Rajhi Mosque here Thursday for Saudi student Fahd Ibrahim Al-Salamah, 25, whose body was found in the Waikato River in New Zealand October 28. He was buried in Naseem Cemetery. The body arrived in Riyadh Wednesday night. Media reports from New Zealand said that Al-Salamah disappeared after crashing his car while being pursued by a police patrol shortly before midnight Oct. 18. Officers were reported to have last seen him running toward the Narrows Bridge over the river. Saudi Embassy in Australia said that the police found Al-Salamah's body 30 kilometers away from where he had initially fallen in the river. His body was found with two bullets at the upper part, the embassy said. It is not clear yet how he was killed. The embassy immediately addressed the New Zealand foreign ministry, and a working team from the embassy left for New Zealand to follow up investigations with the second official at the federal police. Waikato Coroner Gordon Matenga said he and police have been working closely with the Saudi Embassy in Australia to keep the victim's family informed and ensure they understand the circumstances of his death.
