A Filipino restaurant supervisor, as well as a Nepali cook and Iraqi doctor, are on trial in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the fatal food poisoning of two children last year. UAE-based news online Khaleej Times has reported that the Court of Misdemeanors deferred until April 5 the hearing of the case to facilitate the recording of a forensic doctor's statement. The case also involved alleged negligence from the local hospital that attended to siblings Nathan, 5, and his sister Chelsea, 7. Investigators said the children were rushed to the hospital a few hours after eating meal in the restaurant, but were eventually discharged. The children's father, Patrick D'Souza, held doctors and the hospital responsible for the death of his children, believing that they would have been alive had they been given proper medical care. “I had left it up to the Dubai authorities and I hope they will make sure that it doesn't happen again to any child or family. I think hospitals here have to take responsibilities more seriously,” D'Souza said. He added that he and his wife have yet to overcome the loss of their children nine months ago. The two restaurant employees are accused of not adhering to standard hygienic conditions prescribed for preserving and storing the food, which turned out to have been contaminated with bacteria. On the other hand, the Iraqi doctor has been accused of negligence for failing to provide the two siblings with adequate medical assistance when they were admitted at the hospital on June 12, 2009. The report did not name the Filipino and the Nepali, but described the Filipino as 34 years old, the Nepali as 26 years old, and the female Iraqi doctor as 47 years old.
