Dubai: The suspect in the Suzan Tamim murder case has reportedly died in police custody in Cairo, according to several Arabic news sources.

Arabic news portals said the suspect, a 39-year-old Arab national believed to be Egyptian, currently under arrest, was found dead in detention.

According to the Arabic electronic newspaper Elaph, rumours regarding the fate of the suspect are contradictory. One source suggests he committed suicide while others claim he had a heart attack, was transferred to hospital and is still under arrest and facing further questioning by the police.

The same sources suggest the suspect confessed to committing the crime and is linked to a prominent Egyptian businessman whom Tamim knew during her stay in Cairo.

Denied accusations

Elaph added that Egyptian businessman Hesham Talaat Mustafa appeared twice on Egyptian TV channels Sunday without saying a word on the Tamim case.

He denied accusations he had left Egypt to escape investigations and said such rumours were bound to affect the Egyptian stock market.

He added whoever propagated such rumours must be held legally responsible for them.

Gulf News contacted the Egyptian police but they did not make any statement regarding this subject.

It could not be independently confirmed whether the suspect was indeed dead.