THE Chamber of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has advised that charges be laid against the five suspects accused of killing at least one fisherman on Saturday on the high seas.Late yesterday afternoon the advice was given to investigators in Berbice for them to institute charges against all five suspects. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, the pirates had reportedly robbed three fishing boats and threw the crew members of one of the boats overboard.
As a result, one of the men, identified as 45-year-old Hemchand Sookdeo, also called “Dread” of Number 55 Village, was found dead, trapped in a seine, while Dochan Sukra, 54, also called “Butcher” of Number 55 Village, Dhanpaul Rampaul of Number 67 Village, and Munish Churman, 26, also called “Boyo” of Number 60 Village, are all missing.
The pirates first threw Sookdeo, who was injured and bleeding, into the water. Then the other three were bound and strapped to anchors. They, too, were thrown into the ocean. On Tuesday, investigators approached the DPP for advice, but were asked to review the file. Up to late Wednesday night, senior investigators in Berbice were putting the relevant information together, and yesterday the file was returned to the DPP.
Based on reports received, the pirates were armed with cutlasses when they carried out the attack. The captain was rescued by another vessel after swimming for almost three hours. Meanwhile, six days after the men went missing at sea, there has been no trace of them. And while their relatives and friends are still searching for them, many have given up hope of ever finding their loved ones alive.
Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam, says the Surinamese police have been assisting their local counterparts, and the law enforcement officers are seeking to bring justice to the five men in custody.
“They basically helped us with the search on Wednesday, they searched a wide area but they were not successful. We are not sure now whether they are pointing to the same area. The day before they searched and they have not been able to retrieve those bodies. However, the Surinamese are still continuing the investigation working with us to see what is going to be the outcome as it relates to what has happened. Despite not being able to recover the three bodies, we still have one body that was recovered. Based on that, if we are going to institute charges it will be because we have recovered one body.
Meanwhile, on Saturday morning, the police in Berbice were able to arrest five persons, one of whom later confessed to the heinous crime and gave police a confession statement which implicates the captain and other crew members of the boat which is suspected to be the piracy boat.

Amsterdam had indicated that the police were facing difficulty implementing charges against the five suspects in the recent piracy attack in which three boats were hijacked. However, today he said relatives and friends of those affected could breathe a sigh of relief, while mentioning that the Surinam authorities seem not to be interested in prosecuting the suspects. He explained that they are eagerly looking to see what advice comes from the DPP. We are looking at the new piracy act which gives local police the jurisdiction to implement charges against the five. In the past, several persons accused of piracy on the Corentyne River and also in Suriname waters have been freed by magistrates after being placed before the courts.