By Staff Writer
A huge sigh of relief is coming from the Ministry of Police at the arrival this week of a Chinese team of forensic pathologists to undertake long awaited autopsies to determine cause of death on victims of suspected criminal acts.
Deputy Police Commissioner, Papali’i Ms. Monalisa Keti, confirmed 13 deceased victims in a full TTM Hospital Mortuary with causes of death to be legally decided.
The body of a 16-year-old boy from Safotu, Savaii, has been in the mortuary the longest for more than a year.
The victim died in February 2020 just before Samoa went into COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 and a police assault investigation has been kept on hold ever since.
“We are very very grateful that we can now proceed with our police investigations and start getting to the bottom of things,” Deputy Commissioner Papali’i promised.
The lengthy hold up has been an emotional burden on the families of the victims pleading for the bodies of their loved ones to be released for burial.
The families appeal weighed heavily on the police as well, according to the Deputy Commissioner.
“Unfortunately, the post mortem examination is the law and it has to be followed.”
Papali’i noted as an added relief for both the police and the families, the arrangement for each body to be released straight after the forensic examination is completed.
The deceased are mostly from Upolu with 11 and 2 from Savaii.
The findings from the postmortems will allow the police to finalise criminal charges and move on to court proceeding against suspects.
“We are approaching the Office of the Attorney General for the prosecution of criminal charges in court for each of the deaths.”
New Zealand and Australia are the normal sources for Samoa to secure medical expertise not available locally but attempts were frustrated by lockdown conditions of quarantine.
The Ministry of Health struggled unsuccessfully to hire forensic pathologists willing to be kept under quarantine it resulted in a pile up of bodies at the TTM Hospital Mortuary.
China responded to the Ministry’s appeal and flew over this week a team of doctors in a special charted flight to do the much needed forensic examinations.
While Deputy Commissioner Papali’i is fully appreciative of the Chinese doctors help her concern is when they leave.
“People die and we can all expect that but what happens when these Chinese doctors leave and we are again without anyone to carry out these specialized medical services for us?”
Forensic pathology is a specialized medical requirement under the law to determine the cause of death in a criminal investigation.
The Ministry of Health have general pathologist but are yet to acquire the full time services of a forensic examiner.