No DNA testing at $1B forensic lab… Govt. lacks foresight – AFC MP

“If the government spent over $1B just to arrive at a ‘finished’ product that is not finished, it reflects a serious lack of foresight.” That is the view expressed by Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament, Trevor Williams, when asked to comment on the fact that Guyana’s new forensic laboratory is not capable of DNA testing.

Sheema Mangar

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses. DNA is a nucleic acid; alongside proteins and carbohydrates, nucleic acids compose the three major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.- Wikipedia At the recent official commissioning ceremony of Guyana’s first “state of the art” forensic Science Laboratory valued some $1.05 million, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, said that President Donald Ramotar has ordered that soon there should be facilities to test for DNA at the lab. He said that the Ministry of Home Affairs will work assiduously to ensure that this happens and already the Home Affairs Ministry is engaged in negotiations with the Inter American Development Bank. But both parliamentary oppositional parties, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the AFC, are questioning what could have been the government’s point in spending that amount of money on a “state of the art” lab which lacks essential features. Williams said that there have been numerous criminal cases that remain open because of the need for DNA testing. He contended that in bringing such a needed facility to Guyana, the best thing to do was to consult with stakeholders on what are the major functions that the lab needs.  One of the major stakeholders in the lab would be the Guyana Police Force. Yesterday, APNU Member of Parliament and former Commissioner of Police, Winston Felix, said that DNA touches every form of Human identity, “so of course it is one of the most useful facilities needed at a forensic lab.” He said that one is left to wonder “why not ensure that this is available.” According to Felix, Guyana’s Crime fighting unit is now no better than where it was. “I am sure that Guyanese would have imagined an upgrade…This is almost a waste of time.” As he pointed to the “long” period of time that the government had to contemplate, Felix said, “I think that in building a lab, one would have taken into account the inabilities of the previous systems. It is pointless restricting the lab to limited functionalities.” The former Commissioner of Police added, “In Crime solving we must be able to say who is who.” He said that the idea is a good one; that it ought to have been thought out to make sure that Guyana really got an upgrade as opposed to just another facility of the same kind. It has been public opinion that the new lab is no different from the police crime lab.  Forensic samples for a number of cases, including murders and last year’s plane crash at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara, have been delivered to a lab in Brasilia, Brazil since February. This was according to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, who seemed confident that the wait for the results would not have been long. But a month ago, Kaieteur News was told that the results are still to be received. Recent efforts to ascertain whether this remained the same, proved futile. This publication understands that there were samples for about 12 cases, including the rape/murder of 90-year-old Millicent Prince-Cummings and the plane crash that claimed the lives of two foreigners, Pierre Angiel, a 71 year old American pilot  and a 54-year-old Canadian engineer Nick Dmitriev in April last year. In the latter case, the police are looking to confirm the identity of one of the men who was burnt beyond recognition Seelall had told the media that forensic analysis complements the work of detectives and he had cited cases in the US solved on forensic analysis alone. Guyana has entered into a new agreement to send samples to Brazil after trying other labs in Barbados and Jamaica but these did not turn out too well. Jamaica’s delay in delivering the DNA results for the Lindo creek miners spoiled relations there. Jamaica received the samples in 2008 not long after the suspected remains of the men were found. The bodies were badly burnt and were unidentifiable in the state that they were found in. The results were never available until 2012. The case of the murdered Demerara Bank employee, Sheema Mangar, is another that needed forensic intervention. Mangar was dragged to her death by a car in which the man who had snatched her Blackberry phone was escaping. Her mother, Radica Thakoor, has given up hope that local police will solve the case. Police had impounded two cars which crime scene technicians examined for evidence that could connect them to the crime scene or the victim. On one vehicle a piece of broken hair was found while on the other vehicle a piece of green fabric was recovered. A red spot was also identified on one vehicle and was collected as a suspected blood stain. Senior officials of the Guyana Police Force assured the victim’s family that the Barbados laboratory had promised to deliver the DNA results by January 2012. That deadline was not met and the results came over a month later. Mangar’s killer was never identified.