[UPDATED] Murdered fisherman buried in Siparia

At around 9 am today, relatives of murdered fisherman Leslie De Boulet gathered at the Siparia Pentecostal Church in Park Street, Siparia for his funeral. Just a few close relatives joined together for the final rites, which took place behind the closed doors of the church. The media were not allowed inside.

A relative who attended the service accused the media of being uncaring, saying they were not helping the crime situation.

“We don’t want to hear anything from the media. They cannot help us in a time when we have pains and problems,” he said, adding that he was fed up with the kind of news that is being printed every day

A villager said De Boulet was an ambitious family man who started the fishing business recently.

“We do not know when we could be a target, as violence and murders is a normal thing in this country. We are not sure if we will live to see tomorrow," he said.

After the short service, De Boulet’s body was taken to the Siparia Public Cemetery.

De Boulet was one of ten fishermen attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Paria near Orange Valley on July 22.

Those who were killed at sea are De Boulet, Shiva Ramdeo, 27, Anand Rampersad, Alex Sooknanan, 18 and Justin Kissoon, 19. The search continues for Brandon Kissoon, 21, Jason Baptiste, 30 who are presumed dead.

The fishermen who escaped this ordeal, Robbie Jaggernath, Brian Seemungal and Danesh Sankar, were interviewed by the media and each gave his account of the attack 15 miles out at sea, off Orange Valley Port.

MP for Couva North Ramona Ramdial extended her deepest condolences to the families who lost members.

“No family should have to go through such trauma and tragic loss.”

She said that on Monday the fifth body, that of Alex Sooknanan, was sighted off the coast of Point Fortin, but could not be retrieved by the Coast Guard owing to lack of equipment.

“The father of the deceased, Harry Sooknanan, had to send out his fishing boat to retrieve the body,” Ramdial said.

She said National Security Minister Stuart Young needs to get the truth from the Coast Guard as to its capability in search-and-retrieval operations.

Sooknanan's funeral will take place on Thursday in Orange Valley.

The pastor of the Siparia Pentecostal Church has asked us to correct statements in our August 1 story headlined Murdered fisherman buried in Siparia.

The Rev Angela Gidarree has said the church doors were not closed, and informs us that approximately 150 people were inside and outside the church. Nor did the church bar the media from the funeral, said the Rev Gidarree.

Our apologies for any errors in the story that may have caused confusion or embarrassment.