Registrar's system shuts down, delays Arima funerals

The shutdown of a computer system in the Registrar General’s Arima office has caused delays in funeral arrangements for several people over the past two days.

Officials at the Arima office confirmed that the system had not been working between Monday and Tuesday, but said on Tuesday afternoon the system was rebooted and services were back online.

The shutdown meant that people were not able to get death certificates, so they could not hold funerals for their loved ones.

For Natasha Morales, the widow of Gregory Morales, who was shot dead in Trincity on Monday last week, this meant that she would have to delay her husband’s funeral to Thursday.

“It is not just me, it is everyone who is coming for their death certificates,” Morales said. “They were not telling anyone anything.

"I had to go into Port of Spain to see if I could get it. I had to come in town and get the birth paper, then go and register the death and come back.

"A lot of people had to cancel their funerals because of this.”

She said her husband’s funeral had originally been set for 2 pm on Tuesday.

Police said Morales was at the Trincity construction site near Super Pharm at about 2.40 pm on September 21 when a man walked onto the aite and shot him once in the back of the head before running away.

They said Morales did not have a criminal record.

Up to press time no one had been arrested for his murder.