[UPDATED] Barrackpore woman: Rum killed my son

The mother of a man who lost his balance and fell into a drain on his way home from a bar believes his alcohol addiction was what ultimately killed him.

Chandroutie Kuarsingh urged people to avoid alcohol.

"Stop it now. Stop the drinking," the 53-year-old mother of four told Newsday on Monday at the family’s home.

On Sunday, her son David "Boyo" Steven died at Papourie Road, Lengua Village in Barrackpore. Steven, a labourer, turned 29 on Saturday.

"He was a hard worker. His only problem was he liked to drink a lot. Plenty of people talked to him about it. I talked to him many times, and he promised to ease it up.

"When he drank, he would come home, eat and sleep," Kuarsingh said. "Saturday was his birthday, and he came home drunk that night. Earlier this year, he fell from the stairs and fractured three ribs. Sometimes his friends would come and carry him to drink out the road."

The grieving mother said Steven was sickly and had liquid in his lungs. Doctors advised him not to work for at least a year. He applied for public assistance and was expected to collect his first grant next month.

The police found Steven’s body in the drain at around 2 pm on Sunday.

Minutes earlier, he and his friend Marlon Rampersad had been liming in a bar.

Rampersad recalled that he and Steven drank two nips of puncheon rum in 30 minutes and, at around 1.30 pm, decided to return to their separate homes in the area.

"I was walking in front of him, and when I looked back, I did not see him. It seems he slipped, but I did not hear anything," Rampersad said. "When I looked, I saw blood, and he was not moving.

"I flagged down a car, and a guy stopped to help. He called the police, and I went to the station to tell them what had happened.

"I was at Boyo’s home earlier in the day, and we drank soup before leaving to go to the bar."

PCs Sandy, Nabbie, Ramdeo and Maharaj found the Steven lying on his back with head wounds. A DMO later ordered Steven’s body taken to the mortuary of the San Fernando General Hospital.

An autopsy is set to be done during the week at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Sgt Narine, Cpl Khallie, and other Barrackpore police gathered evidence.

Investigations are ongoing.