20110514
reuters

The health of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's wife has improved after suffering symptoms of a heart attack and she is now available for police to take her to prison, the health minister said on Saturday.

An anti-corruption agency ordered Suzanne Mubarak detained for 15 days on Friday as part of an investigation into charges she used her husband's influence to amass wealth unlawfully.

But she was soon admitted to a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where she was questioned while staying with her husband, with a suspected heart attack. It was not clear how she had responded to questioning.

State news agency MENA quoted Health Minister Ashraf Hatem as saying that her health was now "stable and that she is currently at the disposal of the police." But he did not say if or when she will be transferred to prison.

On Thursday, a team of investigators flew from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh to question Mubarak and his wife. Mubarak, who was interrogated for three hours on charges of unlawful wealth, has denied wrongdoing.

Suzanne was questioned on Friday morning.

It was the first detention order for the ousted president's wife. The public prosecutor had already ordered Mubarak detained on April 13 as part of a separate investigation into charges of abuse of public funds and the killing of protesters.

But the 83-year-old former president has never been transferred to prison, and instead has stayed at the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital where he had been since he suffered health problems during initial questioning.

International and local media reports have suggested the Mubarak family's wealth may total billions of dollars, a major rallying point for anti-government protests in a country where around 40 percent of its 80 million people lives on less than $2 per day.