THE lifeless body of Corentyne joiner Kumar Singh, 50, was found in his apartment on Tuesday, August 21, at about 05:30 hrs, and police believe he had been strangled. A post-mortem done on Wednesday by Pathologist, Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan on the Berbician of No. 79 Village, Corentyne determined his cause of death was manual strangulation.
A man has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations.
Prior to his death, Singh was observed entertaining several well-known drug addicts (junkies) from the area, who also performed odd jobs for him. And it is believed that one of them whom he had sent to purchase cigarettes saw both local and foreign currencies when Singh opened his wallet to give him the cigarette money.
Relatives are of the opinion that the drug addicts broke into Singh’s home with intent to rob him, but he apparently woke up and caught them in the act, and in a scuffle they strangled him with their bare hands.
The robbers ransacked the place, took valuables, and escaped before a cousin who shares the washroom with Singh in an adjoining apartment saw his door ajar, unsuccessfully called for him, and subsequently alerted family members, who made the discovery of the body and summoned the police.

Another murder
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, the police are investigating the murder of seven-year-old Saheed Makatnauth of No. 68 Village Squatting Area, Corentyne, Berbice, whose body was found in an open field at No. 68 Village at about 14:15 hrs on Wednesday.
He had been reported missing to the police on August 21.
Pathologist Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan performed a post-mortem on the body on Wednesday, and reported the cause of death as a fractured skull. The victim also had a fractured chin and broken right hand.
A man has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations.