Mother of three on a visit visa dies days after consuming a corrosive substance.
Sharjah: The remains of an Indian expatriate woman, who passed away in Sharjah a month ago, were flown back to India late Monday night, her family and local community members confirmed.
The deceased has been identified as SKJ, 31, a mother of three children aged 10, eight, and five, who live with their father in Kerala. SKJ, who was in the UAE on a visit visa, died at a Sharjah hospital on March 7.
According to the death notification issued by the Indian Consulate in Dubai, the cause of death was hypovolemic shock resulting from gastrointestinal hemorrhage, which led to cardiorespiratory arrest.
Speaking to Gulf News from Kerala, her husband said SKJ had been hospitalized on February 27 after ingesting a corrosive substance. He added that she is believed to have consumed a disinfectant liquid cleaner following a dispute with a friend.
The husband, a daily-wage mason, said his wife had worked at a daycare facility in the UAE for a couple of years.
Back with a promise
“She came home and stayed with us for nearly two months. Then she returned to the UAE, saying some people there owed her money. She also promised to find a job and bring me and the children over,” he said.
He said SKJ had left for the UAE a day before Ramadan began. In the early days of her hospitalisation, she remained reachable by phone. “Even from the hospital, she used to help the children with their English lessons,” her husband recalled.
Alone in grief
Being on a visit visa, SKJ’s family received no employer support, leaving her husband to manage the repatriation largely on his own, with limited funds and few people to turn to.
“When I checked the ticket rates, they had skyrocketed. I don’t have anyone close to help me. My brother is building a house with donations from people in our area. My father recently had a stroke and is paralysed on one side,” he said.
He said he broke the news of their mother’s passing to the older children gradually. “My youngest doesn’t know yet,” he said.
How the community stepped in
The repatriation was finally arranged after the husband reached out to VD Satheesan, Opposition Leader of the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Salam Pappinissery, CEO of YAB Legal Services in Sharjah, said his firm intervened on the Leader’s recommendation. “After the legal procedures were completed, there was no company to take responsibility since she was on a visit visa, and the family had no funds to repatriate the body, which caused the delay. My firm helped with the paperwork and funded the repatriation,” he added.
The mortal remains were flown from Sharjah International Airport to Cochin International Airport in Kerala late Monday night.
