No foul play, but then what killed D'Souza kids?

The case of the D'Souza children - five-year-old Nathan D'Souza and his seven-year-old sister, Chelsea - who died of food poisoning in 2009 still has several unanswered questions, even as Dubai's highest court ruled out foul play and convicted three defendants in the case.

According to a 'Gulf News' report the Dubai Cassation Court upheld the verdict of the Appeal Court.

The 46-year-old Iraqi doctor, IT; Nepalese cook, 25, TR; and Filipino supervisor, 33, ES, was fined Dh20,000 each and handed six-month suspended jail sentences.

The three were jointly ordered to pay Dh400,000 in blood money, which according to the doctor's lawyer,  Mohammad Al Suwaidi, has already been paid.

The doctor's lawyer argued that autopsy reports confirmed Lidocaine toxicity in the children's bodies, while the two hospitals where the kids were admitted confirmed that they were not given the anaesthetic.

He argued that this shows there was foul play and that someone gave Lidocaine to the children.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said the cook and the supervisor were charged with violating the public health requirements of Dubai Municipality through unhygienic practices in preserving food, which led to bacterial contamination.

However, the lawyer who defended the supervisor and the cook said: "A Hamburg medical report confirmed that the children's blood didn't contain any bacterial poisoning. And more than 120 customers ate at the same restaurant and did not suffer any poisoning."

The Appeal Court had acquitted The Lotus Garden, where Nathan and Chelsea had their last meal, of any liability in the case.

According to the Penal Law, if the defendants repeat the same crime within three years, then they will have to serve the six-month jail  sentence.

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