The long, excruciating wait by the family of fisherman Rishi Khemchan for closure in his tragic death is finally coming to an end, more than eight months after he and three other men disappeared after setting off from Guayaguayare on a fishing trip in early February.
Although Khemchan’s remains were retrieved a week later in a mangrove in Venezuela, his relatives have been put through the frustrating bureaucracy of the body’s delayed return to T&T and then a months-long wait for positive identification through DNA testing.
Finally last Friday, the grieving family got confirmation that the remains were their long-departed loved one and, barring any further frustrating setbacks by forensics personnel, they will receive the body by Monday and lay Khemchan to rest next week.
Why did it take so long?
The circumstances of the 38-year-old fisherman’s death at sea, on what started off as a routine fishing trip, were painful enough without the added anguish of a lengthy delay before relatives could arrange for last rites.
This raises questions about the state of the modular DNA laboratory established since 2007 at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. Although this facility exists exclusively for the analysis of DNA, is it fully meeting this country’s need for efficient delivery of criminal justice?
In the case of Khemchan, his relatives cooperated fully with the authorities to get his remains identified through his clothing, dentures and physical features.
The autopsy was done in Venezuela and the body returned to T&T with a death certificate and other documentation on March 10. The police took possession of the body and DNA samples taken from Khemchan’s relatives on March 25.
Unfortunately, what followed was a painfully long wait for confirmation of his identity through DNA.
The value of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in ensuring accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system has long been recognised by T&T’s lawmakers. However, it took them an inordinate length of time—more than two decades and different political administrations—to enact legislation.
In theory, if not in practice, the Forensic Science Centre has had the capacity for DNA testing for approximately 16 years.
Laws debated and passed between 2007 and 2018 regulate the manner in which DNA samples are collected, transported, stored and entered into the country’s DNA Databank
Used to its full potential, DNA evidence will help solve and may even prevent some of T&T’s most serious violent crimes.
With the escalating murder rate, there is increased demand for rapid and accurate DNA collection and forensic analysis to significantly improve detections and convictions and deliver justice.
However, implementation of DNA legislation has been slow and the experience of the Khemchan family is not an isolated one.
In 2021, more than 15 years after Sean Luke’s murder, during the trial of his killers in the High Court, prosecutor Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal revealed that DNA analysis was still outstanding. She told the court samples had been sent for testing in 2006 but there was a challenge with the Forensic Science Centre’s DNA lab and its capacity to do the analysis was “zero.”
This is unacceptable.
Two years later, if these challenges remain unresolved, urgent action is required to ensure that at all stages, from collection to analysis, T&T’s DNA system is fully operational.
Citizens in need of justice and closure should not be at the mercy of a deficient system.
