APNU+AFC Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday called for a thorough investigation of the Region Nine Regional Executive Officer Karl Singh’s shooting of a woman.
During an APNU+AFC’s press conference yesterday, a number of women MPs from the coalition took the opportunity to condemn the shooting, which the police have labelled accidental based on statements it has received.
“I wish to condemn the actions of the Regional Executive Officer of Region Nine,” said Natasha Singh-Lewis, the opposition MP with responsibility for women affairs.
Singh-Lewis further stated that while the most recent reports suggest that the incident, which occurred on Tuesday, was accidental, the perpetrator of an act of that nature should not be given a free pass.
“It is not for the police to decide whether the shooting was accidental or not but it is for the court to decide that. It is important that we focus on the facts of this case and call it out for what it is,” she said.
The MP added that she had seen reports of the victim’s mother stating that she observed other signs of physical abuse on her upper body.
“I join with my colleagues to call for a fair investigation… free from political interference, free from all interferences,” Singh-Lewis stressed.
Former minister Dawn Hastings-Williams stated that the opposition and more specifically the women parliamentarians of the APNU+AFC have taken a strong stand to condemn the incident. She then called on the numerous women’s organisations and the women parliamentarians from both sides to speak up and stand against all acts of violence.
Hastings-Williams said during the press conference that she was told that the victim’s mother was told that the gun went off and as a result she was shot in the abdomen.
Against this background, she said there are a number of questions that need to be answered as it relates to the incident. “I’m calling on the Guyana police force to do what is right, investigate and give us a true report. I am calling for justice…,” she said.
Meanwhile, the MPs called on the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to assist and provide the victim and her family with psychosocial support.
On Thursday the police had said the file on the investigation into the shooting of the 25-year-old woman by Singh had been sent to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Singh, who had been in police custody since his arrest after the shooting on Tuesday, was on Thursday placed on bail.
The police in a statement on Wednesday had said that around 11 pm on Tuesday at the Commercial Zone, Lethem, Singh and the woman were in a motor vehicle belonging to Singh, when he allegedly shot her in the abdomen.
He took her to the Lethem Regional Hospital, where she immediately underwent surgery. According to police, Singh was subsequently arrested and escorted to the Lethem Police Station where his licensed firearm was seized and lodged.
The victim’s father had told Stabroek News that Singh offered to take the woman and two others home. They were all under the influence of alcohol, he said.
They agreed and the woman jumped into the front seat of the vehicle while the other two sat in the rear. She said that Singh mumbled something about someone removing his gun from the car. He then bent to retrieve it and while cocking it, allegedly shot her.
