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Investigation launched into corpse mutilation at GPHC
An investigation has been launched into the recent mutilation of a corpse at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) mortuary. That incident has left several persons questioning the usefulness of the facility.
Cement intended to facilitate works at the GPHC mortuary.
The disclosure about the investigation was made yesterday by Chief Executive Officer of the medical institution, Michael Khan.
This newspaper reported in its Saturday edition that the remains of slain 20-year-old Sulé Brian Assanah were discovered with a gaping hole where his nose should have been. The discovery was made on Friday by his father, Brian William Assanah, during a visit to the hospital mortuary. Reports are that rats were the cause of the corpse’s disfigurement.
In fact, staffers of the hospital had informed this publication of a rat infestation at the facility. They said that this was not a unique occurrence. The employees said that rats had eaten away the dead man’s face and there is nothing to prevent the rodents since the mortuary itself needed a better sanitizing system.
One staffer speculated that the rats may have got into the mortuary refrigerator through the drain pipes.
According to the Chief Executive of the hospital, Mr Khan, he first learnt of the incident on Thursday evening and immediately ensured that pest control officials were summoned to address the situation.
He disclosed, too, that the matter was also reported to the hospital’s board which is tasked with investigating the matter.
In expressing his regret over the unfortunate incident, Khan sought to highlight that “this is the first time that something like this has happened under my watch and I have been here for 10 years already.”
Khan said that efforts to ensure that such an incident does not recur have seen the administration of the hospital making the crucial decision to effect rehabilitative works on the facility.
Yesterday, a visit to the mortuary revealed a pile of cement and other materials intended to patch sections of the mortuary refrigerator. It is believed that the rodents were able to access the corpse through a number of visible holes in the refrigerator.
According to supervisor of the facility, Martin Rodrigues, the individual (one Mr Parris), who was contracted by the hospital to undertake the needed works, had indicated that he would commence work yesterday morning at the facility. However as at noon yesterday, works had not yet commenced.
Mortuary Supervisor, Martin Rodrigues, points to areas of the refrigerator that require remedial works.
Sulé Brian Assanah, a victim of a knife attack, succumbed at the public hospital last week Sunday. He was at the time attempting to coerce his eventual attacker, who was wanted for an offence, to surrender to police officers who were pursuing him. His efforts were futile as the man who was armed with a knife lunged at him inflicting a life-threatening wound to his neck. The incident occurred at the corners of Fourth and Light Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, a short distance from Sulé Brian Assanah’s home.
According to the dead man’s mother, Laurine Mingo, hospital staffers had warned her that the hospital’s storage facility was in a poor condition revealing that “the dead would rot and not be in a healthy state when it is uplifted.”
The woman said that she sought permission from officers at the Alberttown Police Station to have her son’s remains be removed from the GPHC and stored at a funeral home. This request, she said, was denied since her son’s death was said to be a police matter.
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