Cardiff dad and son's funeral held after Bangladesh 'poisoning'
- Published
Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay tribute to the father and son who died
The funeral has taken place for a man and his son from Cardiff who died after a suspected poisoning in the city of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Rafiqul Islam, 51, and 16-year-old Mahiqul, died on their way to hospital on Tuesday.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Sylhet for the funeral, which took place at 13:30 local time on Thursday.
Rafiqul Islam's mother, Zarina Jobbar, along with two of his brothers and sister were among those in attendance.
His wife, Husnara, along with their two other children, 20-year-old Samira and 24-year-old Sadiqul, remain in hospital.
Samira is understood to be in a critical condition.
Police in Bangladesh believe Rafiqul Islam and his family were poisoned
Mr Islam was a taxi driver who lived in Riverside, Cardiff and was a member of local badminton and football teams.
He was described by a relative in the city as "very friendly, a very nice guy".
A local community leader called him a "very helpful person who was at the mosque all the time and constantly working with the community".
His teenage son Mahiqul, who had been a pupil at Fitzalan High School, was described by a relative as "very sweet and friendly."
Special prayers are due to take place at the local mosque in Riverside on Friday.
Originally from Bangladesh, Mr Islam moved to the UK in the mid-1980s on the basis of his father's British citizenship.
The family had been staying in a flat in Osmaninagar near the north-eastern city of Sylhet since earlier in the month.
Police are investigating their deaths, which were at first believed to be due to food poisoning and are being treated as "wrongful".
It is understood Husnara and Sadiqul have now both given statements to police.
Post-mortem examinations have been carried out and been sent to Dhaka but it could be a few days before the results are known.
A relative of the family told BBC Bangla that when family members got no answer at the flat on Tuesday morning, they saw through a window that the family were lying haphazardly on two beds and they called police.
"The police came and broke down the door," said Cebul Mia. "We also helped them. We went inside and saw that everyone was unconscious. I saw that they were struggling to breathe," he said.
The family were staying in the city of Sylhet, Bangladesh
First Minister Mark Drakeford, whose constituency includes Riverside, where the family live, said: "My thoughts are with the Islam family and their friends today.
"We are all thinking of Husnara, Samira and Sadiqul as they are treated in hospital.
"This is a terrible incident which will have affected the wider Bangladeshi community here in Riverside.
"The Cardiff West constituency office and my Parliamentary colleague Kevin Brennan are on hand to offer support to all those who need it."
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- Published27 July 2022
