Smell of decay leads to body of Arab tourist in Manila hotel room

MANILA, Philippines—The smell of decay led to the discovery of the body of a Middle Eastern tourist inside his hotel room in Manila early Thursday.

The body of Ali Mohammed Karam Ghuloum Al Baloushi, 49, a tourist from the United Arab Emirates, was found slumped over the bed and already decomposing.

Police Officer 2 Jose Gumilan, of the Manila Police District homicide section, said that Al Baloushi’s body was discovered around 12:30 a.m. Thursday by employees of the Sandico Apartelle at the corner of M.H. del Pilar and Padre Faura streets in Malate.

Gumilan revealed that the tourist was last seen alive by employees around 4 a.m. Monday and since then had not left his room.

Before the find, 24-year-old desk clerk Gladys Mae Bahinting detected a stench coming from within the hotel guest’s room. Gumilan pointed out that the employee grew worried after she noted that the tourist had not gone out of his room since Monday.

The case investigator instructed 18-year-old security guard Santos Conuna Jr. to accompany her in checking on their guest but when Al Baloushi did not respond to their knocks on the door, they decided to use a duplicate key and saw the dead body.

Gumilan said the body bore no sign of any external injury leading the case investigator to conclude Al Baloushi died of a natural cause.

The body was taken to the St. Yvan funeral parlor for autopsy and safekeeping.