KEY POINTS:
After a year without any explanation of their son's death in police custody in Dubai, a Christchurch couple plan to go there to demand answers.
The Mahoney family have just celebrated their first Christmas without promising young golfer Aaron Mahoney, 24, who died when the police car he was travelling in crashed on the streets of Dubai in January.
Aaron had just started an international golfing course and was reportedly arrested after becoming unruly at an apartment building.
Conflicting reports since then said Aaron had attacked the police in the car before the crash, and that the officers involved had been charged with manslaughter.
Aaron's father, Paul Mahoney, said he had also heard that one of the police officers in the car with his son had died.
However, authorities in Dubai had released virtually no information about the events to the Mahoney family or those acting on their behalf.
The family did not know what Aaron was charged with and do not believe he could have attacked the police.
"In that country, if something goes wrong, they shut up shop pretty quickly," Mr Mahoney said.
"They have all the information there if they want to hand it out. One cop is alive and he knows what went on."
Mr Mahoney said the family had been content so far to sit back and wait for information to come to them through the official channels, but now they felt they had to go to Dubai to put pressure on.
"We have got a few contacts over there now. We might be able to find something out. It's not going to change anything but it will help us out a little.
"We are not out to get even. It would be nice to know what went on. Otherwise you keep asking yourself questions. And we don't want to be doing that for another 50 years."
Mr Mahoney has been critical of the efforts of the New Zealand authorities in Dubai to get information about his son's death.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had been in contact with its Dubai counterpart to try to obtain a traffic prosecution report on the incident and any other information.
It was keeping the family informed.
Mr Mahoney said the first Christmas without Aaron had been a sad time.
"For any parent who loses a kid, Christmas is the worst time."
He warned other travellers to Dubai to be careful.
"What happened to Aaron could happen to any Kiwi."
