ONE of Egypt's richest tycoons was arrested yesterday for allegedly paying a former police officer to kill a popular Lebanese pop singer.
Hisham Talaat, who is also an MP from the ruling party of the president, Hosni Mubarak, is accused of paying the ex-policeman $2 million to kill Suzanne Tamim, 30, chief prosecutor Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud said.
Tamim's body was found decapitated in
her flat in Dubai in July.
Talaat, a senior member of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, was reportedly being considered for a cabinet post. His businesses include property and tourism developments in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
Prosecutor Mahmoud said former police officer Mahmoud el-Sukkary was paid to follow Tamim from London to Dubai, where he bought a knife to kill her.
He made his way into the singer's home pretending to be a real estate agent, then stabbed her to death.
Arab media has speculated that Talaat, a married father of three, was romantically involved with Tamim but Mahmoud gave no indication what the motive for the alleged contract killing might have been.
A media ban on reporting the case in Egypt was never officially lifted, but yesterday the chief prosecutor's statement was widely reported by Egyptian media.
Several Egyptian newspapers have complained that the government was using the ban to protect prominent figures. Columnist Hamdi Rizq in the independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper said these figures were "becoming immune" and that the "regime helps them get out of disasters and whitewashes them."
Tamim burst onto the Lebanese pop scene in 1996 after winning the top prize in a popular television talent show. However, her career, was overshadowed by a troubled private life that included two high-profile divorces.
