The body of the man found floating in the Demerara River on Wednesday has been identified as that of seaman Desmond Chung.
Relatives identified Chung, 38, of Section ‘C’ Block ‘Y’ Grove, East Bank Demerara. Police are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination scheduled for Monday to ascertain how Chung met his death.
Carl, the dead man’s brother, told Stabroek News yesterday that Chung, who lived with his father and a brother, was an alcoholic and frequently stayed away from home for extended periods. Carl said that the man left home during the Christmas season with some of his belongings in a bag and never returned.
He recalled that during the early part of January he saw his brother at the Meadow Bank wharf and gave him money to buy tea. He said on Thursday he was at the wharf when he was informed that a man fitting Chung’s description was pulled from the river by the police. It was then that he started making inquiries and discovered that his brother had not returned home since December.
Carl told this newspaper that while at the wharf he was shown a story in the newspaper about the body and yesterday he went to the Lyken’s Funeral home, where he confirmed the man to be his brother.
Police had said that the body was found floating in the vicinity of the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) wharf on Wednesday morning.
