GUYANA: HIGH COURT JUDGE SENTENCED FIVE MEN TO DEATH FOR BRUTAL 2016 PIRACY ATTACK

December 19, 2023:

Justice Sandil Kissoon of the High Court in Guyana on December 14, 2023 sentenced five men to death for the 2016 piracy attack that claimed the lives of four fishermen.
Justice Kissoon said that the five convicted men – Leon Sammy, Ganesh Naidoo, Ramesh Singh, Ramchand Latchman and Stephon Leacock – had engaged in a homicidal rampage involving piracy, hijacking, and robbery on the specified days.
They all pleaded guilty to murdering Hemchand Sookdeo, 45, Dochan Sukra, 54, Dhanpaul Ramphal, 38, and Munish Churman, 26, during May 27-28, 2016, in the waters of the Lower Shell area off Nickerie, Suriname.
According to reports, he delivered the death sentence, declaring, “Each of you is hereby sentenced to suffer death in a manner prescribed by law on each count in the indictment.”
Reports are that the captain of the boat Seepersaud Persaud, and his four crew members found themselves in a challenging situation as they navigated the open sea.
They were attacked by the accused and were cast overboard.
The sequence of events began with the assailants hurling Sookdeo, who was injured and bleeding, into the water. 
Subsequently, the remaining three fishermen were bound and fastened to anchors before being cast into the water.
Reports are that the criminals absconded with fishermen’s catch for the day, fuel, and other equipment.
Sookdeo was rescued by another vessel after swimming for almost three hours.
Days later, acting on received intelligence, law enforcement authorities converged on the foreshore of No. 65 Village, Corentyne, where they encountered a vessel closely matching the description of the one implicated in the piracy assault.
The five individuals on board the vessel were apprehended and subsequently faced charges.