Dead Fisherman’s wife shocked at decision not to charge cops for husband’s death

By Tracey Khan – Drakes

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Lily Chandarpaul, the wife of the late fisherman Asif Rahim is shocked at the recommendations made by Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), retired Justice Cecil Kennard not to charge any of the ranks who were on duty the night her husband was beaten.

Kennard instead recommended that manslaughter charges be instituted against the civilian who allegedly beat the fisherman while they were both handcuffed at the Leonora Police Station, West Coast Demerara. Rahim was confined in the lock up following a domestic violence issue involving his wife on November 22, 2014.

iNews understands that Kennard’s decision was based on the fact that the man’s wife never turned up to identify the ranks who allegedly thrashed her husband which lead to his death.

When contacted on Monday, February 16, the mother of four of 102 Ocean Gardens, Meten – Meer – Zorg, West Coast Demerara home, expressed her disappointment with the decision of the PCA Chairman.

“I don’t know what to say about that,” she exclaimed in disgust. The woman is adamant that her husband died from the beating he received at the hands of the ranks that were on duty at the Police Station.

The woman explained that she never turned up at the ID parade because she does not know the Police Officers implicated in the beating along with the fact that her husband never pointed them out to her.

The woman has based her claims on what her husband told her after he was taken to the hospital on several occasions. The 28 – year – old man died at his home on November 27, 2014, five days after he was badly beaten while in police custody.

The woman had told iNews then that when she visited her husband at the police station, she found him in a battered state, with his face swollen. After inquiring from the police about her husband’s condition, they told her that he was beaten by other prisoners.

Rahim was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she was informed that his jaw was broken and he would need to undergo surgery.

According to the woman, her husband was admitted to the hospital but called her the following day begging her to have him discharged since he did not receive any treatment from the hospital authorities.

A Post Mortem Examination, which was performed on December 01, found that his jaw was broken and there was a rupture in his throat. The PME also revealed that the father of four received severe injuries to his chest which resulted in massive blood clot in his body.