A boat captain was earlier this week remanded over the murder of a Berbice man whose body was found at Kumaka Waterfront, North West District with what appeared to be marks of violence on his face and neck, several days after he was reported missing.
Damian Ming, also known as “Eddoe”, 35, a boat captain of Canal Bank, Port Kaituma, North West District, appeared at the Mabaruma Magistrate’s Court via Zoom on Tuesday where he was charged with murder committed on Mohamed Rai of Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje, Berbice, which occurred between Monday 9th August, 2021 and Tuesday 10th August, 2021 at the Kumaka Water Front, Mabaruma.
Ming appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce where the charge was read and he was not required to plead.
As such he was remanded to prison and the matter was put down to November 15, when the preliminary inquiry into the matter is expected to commence.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) had reported that three fellow crew members of Mohamed Rai, also known as “Reyaz”, 33, of Lot 6, Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje, Berbice, were among the five persons who were in custody for questioning about his death. The other two persons in custody were two female Venezuelans, with whom he was reportedly last seen.
In a statement, the GPF had said that Mohamed’s body was spotted around 8 am on Thursday last after which he was positively identified by the boat captain, Edwin O’Neil, and other crew members. “The body was examined and what appears to be marks of violence were seen on the right side of his neck and right eye,” it added.
Rai’s sister, Andrea Davis, of Palmyra Village, had relayed that her brother left home on July 15 to head out on a boat to Paramaribo, Suriname as he would normally do. However, she said, they were later informed that instead of Suriname he went to a location in Georgetown.
While police said that Rai was reported missing on Tuesday last week, his sister yesterday said that her family was only informed on Wednesday. She said the captain, O’Neil, said her brother was last seen in the company of those arrested. “He [boat captain] say he send someone to call my brother; that he went by a shop corner and when the boy go my brother had a beer in his hand and tell he he a come just now and then after that them na see he back.”
