When they appeared at the High Court in Berbice last week, three of the five men accused of killing four fishermen in May 2016 during a horrifying pirate attack on the Corentyne River, chose to enter a guilty plea. The other two accused will go on trial this week.
From L-R: Hemchand Sookdeo, Munish Churman, Dhanpaul Ramphal and Dochan Sukra
Ganesh Naidoo of Number 79 Village, Corentyne; Ramesh Singh of Liverpool Village, and Stephon Leacock of Number 77 Village, Corentyne, are accused of murdering the fishermen during a piracy attack that occurred on May 28, 2016, on the Corentyne Coast.
Top right: Ramchand Latchman, Ganesh Naidoo and Ramesh Singh
The men confessed to killing Dhanpaul Ramphal, also known as “Sunil,” 38; Munish Churman, 26, also known as “Boyo,” of Number 60 Village; Dochan Sukra, 54, called “Butcher,” and 45-year-old Hemchand Sookdeo, aka “Dread”, a father of five from Number 55 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
The trio’s sentencing hearing is set for Monday, December 4, following the presentation of probation and other social reports to Justice Sandil Kissoon. In the meantime, the two other men who were charged jointly, Leon Sammy and Ramchand Latchman, have entered not guilty pleas and their trials will commence tomorrow before a mixed 12-member jury.
Hours after the attack, Sookdeo’s body was discovered entangled in seines with a chop wound to the back of his skull; however, his three other crew members, Churman, Sukra, and Ramphal, are still unaccounted for and thought to have perished.
The three missing fishermen were reportedly tossed overboard while still tied to an anchor. According to reports, one of the five men had admitted to the crimes and implicated Latchman, the captain of the boat thought to have taken part in the attack.
Seepersaud Persaud was the captain of Rosana 664, the vessel which came under attack. In the attack, Persaud was hurled overboard, but he made it out alive.
Fuel and other equipment, as well as the fishermen’s daily catch, were taken by the bandits.
A few days later, Police visited No 65 Village foreshore in Corentyne in response to information they had received, and they observed a boat that matched the description of the vessel used during the attack. On board, Police found men.
