It has been roughly three months since the death of two-year-old Raheem Fung and his frustrated mother Rhonda Kortright-Fung said the police are continuing to give her the royal run-around. The upset mother told Stabroek News yesterday that it has been a traumatizing Christmas without her son and the police have been giving her the royal run-around in relation to providing an update on her son’s case. The one-year-old died of multiple head injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Kortright-Fung of Circuitville, Yarrowkabra, Linden-Soesdyke Highway said she visited the Police Complaints Authority and was informed that the matter was lodged with the Director of Public Prosecutions for perusal.
She disclosed that her son’s caretaker, who was known to the family, apparently had a physical altercation with Raheem over a broken phone. “We asked her to provide us with evidence of the phone being broken by Raheem and she said no, so I asked her why and she said she already threw it away,” Kortright-Fung said.
“I even suggested that my husband would have repaired the broken phone until we purchase a new one for her because she is our relative, but she refused. Right away I knew that her story was not adding up,” the deceased infant’s mother told this newspaper.
While law enforcement reported that Raheem died as a result of head injuries after he reportedly fell, Kortright-Fung is contending that the babysitter may have had physical contact with her son.
The distraught mother who burst into tears noted that the babysitter had been released from police custody and it was devastating to see the 28-year-old woman walking around with her child while hers was deceased.
Kortright-Fung said that she will not give up until justice is granted for her son.
“She has to take responsibility for what happened to my son. He was in her care. I will not allow this to slide and I am hoping the police stop playing games with me and tell me the truth. I need justice for my son,” Kortright-Fung said.
According to the deceased infant’s mother, doctors were a bit hesitant to reveal the results of the post-mortem examination.
The police had reported that the babysitter, who resided at Yarrowkabra, Soesdyke-Linden Highway with her one-year-old daughter was detained as part of ongoing investigations into the incident. The injuries were reportedly sustained between July 1 and September 15 at Yarrowkabra.
The police report stated that the babysitter had contacted and informed the mother of the toddler that her son had fallen and hit his head. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital with a swollen forehead, and was treated and sent away in a healthy condition, after which he remained in the care and custody of the babysitter.
On September 15, around 19:30 hrs., the babysitter again contacted Fung, this time informing her that Raheem had suffered a seizure and lost consciousness.
The toddler was rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre by his mother, where he was examined and transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. He was placed in the ICU on a life-support machine, suffering from multiple head injuries.
Commander of Regional Division 4 C Krishnadat Ramana when contacted for an update, said that as far as he was aware, the matter was with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
A source told this newspaper that the matter was indeed lodged with DPP Shalimar Ali Hack.
