Lebanese Uber driver held for murdering British embassy worker

Uber has come under fire again and this time in Lebanon where one of its drivers has been suspected of killing a British embassy worker. The victim, Rebecca Dykes, used to work at the British Embassy in Beirut and her death has raised many concerns over the safety of the ride hailing service.

It has been reported that the suspect, identified as Tariq, has a previous arrest record for drug use. He is a 41-year-old male who had been arrested on drug-related charges in the period 2015-17. This record does not show up on his judicial record.

Upon being questioned, the suspect immediately confessed to the crime. The police reported that the murder was committed as a criminal act and not a political one.

It was reported that the driver picked up Dykes in his taxi in Beirut’s Gemmayzeh district on Friday evening before assaulting and killing her. Dykes’ body was found strangled by the side of the highway.

Meanwhile Uber has expressed deep sorrow over the incident but it declined to confirm the suspect’s name or how long he had been driving for the service.

“We are horrified by this senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with the victim and her family,” said Uber spokesman Harry Porter. “We are working with authorities to assist their investigation in any way we can.”

Dykes worked at the British Embassy for the Department for International Development.

“The whole embassy is deeply shocked, saddened by this news,” Britain’s ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, said on Sunday. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca,” Dykes’ family said in a statement. “We are doing all we can to understand what happened.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=55794

Posted by fatimaarshad on Dec 20 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.