2017 Corentyne piracy: Fishermen jailed for 25 years each for killing boat captain

A 25-year prison sentence was on Monday imposed on each of two men for the offence of manslaughter, over the death of a boat captain who drowned when his vessel came under attack by pirates back in 2017.
Following their guilty pleas on Monday, January 23, 63-year-old Doodnauth Singh of Lot 348 Fifth Street, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne and 44-year-old Khemraj Narsayah of Lot 108 Section B, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne were remanded to prison pending their sentencing hearing.

Singh, otherwise known as “Rambo”, and Narsayah, called “Antenna”, had initially been charged with the capital offence of murder in the death of Mahadeo Ramdial, called “Chico”, but they each opted to plead guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, thereby admitting that on May 16, 2017, on the foreshore between the Corentyne communities of Tain Village and Rose Hall Town, they unlawfully killed 57-year-old Ramdial during an act of piracy. The charge has been laid contrary to Section 7 of the Hijacking and Piracy Act.

Before accepting the men’s new pleas, the presiding Judge asked them whether they had discussed their decision with their lawyers, whether they agreed with the prosecution’s facts, and whether they understood that the offence carries a term of imprisonment.
Ramdial drowned after his fishing boat came under attack by pirates. It has been reported that on May 16, 2017, Ramdial and two of his crewmen, Arjun Permaul and Parmanand Nandan, were attacked by two cutlass-wielding men while they were out at sea. The fishermen were beaten and relieved of their catch and boat engine before being tossed overboard by the pirates. Ramdial drowned while trying to swim ashore. (G1)