A screen shot of a video of the incident of Menofiya Tuk-Tuk was shot by some resident and widely viewed on social media (Photo: Youtube)
The prosecution in Egypt's Menoufiya governorate ordered on Saturday the 15-day detention pending investigation of a traffic police officer accused of killing a tuk-tuk driver in the city Shebin El-Koum earlier this month.
Last week, Police officer Ahmed El-Eleimy was ordered detained for four days last week after he shot 40-year-old Mohamed Abdel-Razek in the face on 14 February.
Abdel-Razek died of his injury a week later in hospital.
Ahmed Abdel-Fattah, a lawyer representing the victim's family, told Ahram Online that according to eyewitnesses' testimony the incident resulted when an officer attempted to stop Abdel-Razek who mistakenly drove his vehicle on a no-tuk-tuk street.
"When the officer tried to apprehend him, Abdel-Razek became scared and attempted to speed away, but the police officer managed to catch him and began to hit him, despite attempts by bystander to help the victim," Abdel-Fattah said.
The lawyer said that Abdel-Razek bystanders mangaed to help Abdel-Razek back to his tuk-tuk.
At this point, the officer fired two shots, one in the air and the other into the face of the victim who was simply sitting in the tuk-tuk, the lawyer says.
The prosecutors are investigating the defendant on charges of intentional murder.
Police investigators had initially said that the officer intended to fire both shots into air, with one bullet accidentally striking the victim.
Abdel-Fattah has decried the investigators' conclusion as "illogical."
The medical examiner has not yet released its findings.
"The incident left two young kids orphaned and a widowed wife with no source of income," Abdel-Fattah said.
There have been several incidents in recent years where policemen have been charged after killing civilians, though the interior ministry has repeatedly stated that these are isolated incidents.
Last year, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi pledged to hold accountable policemen guilty of "violations" after a series of deaths in police custody, allegedly caused by torture, sparked public outcry.
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