Drowned doctor was hard-working, cheerful

Nigerian doctor Leslie Gabar, 44, who was found dead in the pool at his Glen Road, Scarborough home on Sunday afternoon was described by co-workers on Monday as hard working, cheerful and lively.

A friend of Gabar, who said she knew him for over five years, said she was baffled by the doctor’s drowning as she knew him to be an excellent swimmer. She also said he had spoken to her just last week years about plans to expand his private medical practice and purchase an ultrasound machine.

Reports are that Gabar, who was attached to the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA), was discovered unconscious in the pool by his wife. He was rushed to the Scarborough General Hospital in Signal Hill where he was pronounced dead.

Gabar, originally from Nigeria, is married to a Tobagonian teacher. He was the father of three children. He had worked with the TRHA for some 11 years, beginning in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Old Scarborough Hospital at Fort King George. He was assigned to the Surgery department when the hospital was relocated to Signal Hill in March 2012, then relocated to the Roxborough Health district before being re-assigned to his last posting at the East Scarborough/Windward Road district as District Medical Officer (DMO).

Gabar also lectured at the College of Science Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), Tobago branch.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted soon.