‘Crime scene was compromised; removal of bodies poorly managed’- Dr. Nehaul Singh
STATE Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh has said the charred remains of the Lindo Creek Massacre victims should have been separated to allow for eight separate Post- Mortem Examinations (PMEs) to be conducted with support from a Forensic Anthropologist.

On Thursday, he testified before the Donald Trotman-led Commission, which was appointed by President David Granger to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of eight miners – Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Horace Drakes, Bonny Harry, Lancelot Lee, Compton Speirs, Nigel Torres and Clifton Berry Wong – whose charred remains were discovered at Lindo Creek in the Upper Berbice River on June 21, 2008.

The state pathologist was initially identified to conduct the post-mortems but was subsequently replaced by a Jamaican team contracted by the Government at the time.
Fielding questions put to him by the Commission’s Legal Counsel Patrice Henry, Dr. Singh, from an expert’s perspective, said that the remains should have been managed effectively to avert any disaster.

“…you got to be careful how you are removing these things (the remains). The problem is you need to get it separated as much as possible, you just can’t go and scoop them up and put them in a bag, and bring them. You are not selling mangoes,” he told the packed chamber at the Department of Public Service.

Dr. Singh said had it been him, he would have had eight sets of remains ahead of the post-mortems. “You must see an outline, there would be an outline unless they were totally burnt like if you had a cremation but I saw bones…so you put them separately, so it’s easier to examine, and that would have been the best way to do it…,” he told the Commission.

To complement his work, the state pathologist said he requested the assistance of a forensic anthropologist. A proposal was put to the Commissioner of Police Henry Greene to bring in a forensic anthropologist from the U.S, who was interested in the case, but according to Dr. Singh, he did not get a feedback.

Asked whether it would be wise to exhume the remains at this point, Dr. Singh responded in the negative. “I doubt it. After 10 years those bones might have already disintegrated, you wouldn’t find anything. It would be very difficult,” he posited.

Meanwhile, in the initial part of his testimony, the state forensic pathologist told the Commission that he was originally earmarked to conduct the autopsies – corroborating the testimony of retired detective Carl Jacobs, who had previously told the Commission that a Coroner’s Order was prepared to be submitted to the assigned pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh.

According to Dr. Singh, on Sunday June 22, 2008, he was contacted by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Superintendent Edgar Thomas, informing him that eight miners had been murdered at Lindo Creek, and his service was required.
The pathologist managed to pull a team together including two mortuary attendants and a notetaker. At around, o9:30hrs that day, he recalled being picked up at home, and then travelling to Ogle, and then to Timehri where they departed via plane to Kwakwani in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice).

They were then transported via helicopter to the UNAMCO trail. At the time, Dr. Singh’s team was accompanied by senior ranks of the GPF and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) along with Courtney Wong, a relative of one of the deceased who was familiar with the camp site at Lindo Creek.

Through the rain and heavily vegetated and rough terrain, the pathologist recalled going off trail for more than one hour before arriving at the first camp.
“When we arrived at the camp, Mr. Wong said ‘oh, oh, they moved camp.’ So I said move camp to where? He said ‘doc, it is up a hill and you got to cross two creeks…I said bro, I really can’t make that one, and he agreed with me and said doc you nah gun make it. So the older folks stayed back,” the pathologist recalled.

Though Dr. Singh did not go to the crime scene, he sent one of the mortuary assistants to accompany the members of the Joint Services. Close to two hours after, they came back with photos of the remains, Dr. Singh said, noting that he was informed that the remains would have been brought out from the interior location on another day.
According to him, after returning to Kwakwani from Lindo Creek he had discussions with a Major from the army regarding arrangements for them to return to the crime scene by helicopter on Tuesday June 24, 2008 to allow for the post-mortem examinations to be done.

Dr. Singh told the Commission that he had informed the then Prime Minister and Acting President, Samuel Hinds of the arrangements during a late night high-level meeting at his official residence on June 22, 2008.
To his surprise, the pathologist said he learnt via the news that the remains had been brought out.

“On Monday I was at home looking at the news and I heard that they had brought all the bones out and I said ‘good for them, less work for me,’” he recalled.
On Thursday June 26, 2008, Dr. Singh said he was informed by the Commissioner of Police that a team from Jamaica would be conducting the PMEs.

“Then on Thursday, I got a call from the then Commissioner of Police Henry Greene and he said to me, Dr. Singh the Government is going to fly in a team from Jamaica with pathologists and crime scene people. I said to him that I am not going to be observing anybody. I have work to do, let them do their job,” he said.

Offering clarity to Commission’s Chairman, Justice (Ret’d) Donald Trotman, the state forensic pathologist made it clear that he was not prepared to observe anyone, and opted not to be a part of the investigation at that stage.
“I don’t have a problem with people coming, let them come and let us work together, I mean two heads are better than one, and I am willing to work with anybody but I am not going to be subservient to anybody,” he stated.

He said the following Tuesday, he was visited by the Jamaican team led by an Indian national. It was the Indian national whose name was inserted above Dr. Nehaul Singh’s scratched out name on the Coroner’s Order.

According to him, upon being visited by the team, they had a discussion and he showed them to the morgue and introduced them to his staff before taking his leave.

Dr. Singh, a medical practitioner since 1988, is the Head of the Department of Pathology at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC). With degrees in Medicine and Pathology, he also lectures at the School of Medicine at the University of Guyana, and serves as a Professor of Pathology at the Greenheart University and the Texila Medical University. To date, he has conducted approximately 25,000 post-mortem examinations.