The death of a 27-year-old man in Kyrenia on Sunday may have been caused by a physical altercation in which he was involved the previous week, it was heard in court on Wednesday.

The man, named Onur Kayabasi, suddenly fell ill and died on Sunday, being pronounced dead at 6.55pm that day.

An autopsy performed on Monday showed that Kayabasi’s death may have been caused by a blow to the abdominal region which caused a blood clot in one of his organs.

Police officer Omer Yavuz explained in court that further investigation revealed that on March 13 at around seven minutes past midnight, a verbal argument broke out between Kayabasi and another man, reportedly because Kayabasi swore at him.

The other man then hit Kayabasi over the head and then kicked him in the abdominal area with his right foot, while also claiming that Kayabasi had attacked one of his friends.

Additionally, Yavuz said Kayabasi had visited the accident and emergency department of Kyrenia’s Akcicek hospital on March 14 complaining of abdominal pain after being kicked.

He said Kayabasi was examined and later discharged.

The man with whom Kayabasi had a fight was arrested on Tuesday and remanded in custody for three days on Wednesday.