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Six deaths in one week in Samoa being investigated

joyetter@samoanews.com

Apia, SAMOA — The Samoa’s Police Service is currently investigating six deaths that happened last week, including a man who was electrocuted in Siumu, this is according to the Police spokesperson, Superintendent Su’a Lemalu Tiumalu during the weekly press conference last week.

He said the man was working on cementing his house at night and he was holding a 12-foot light fixture to light his work area, while he used the other hand to smooth out the cement. It’s alleged that’s how he was electrocuted. Su’a told the Samoa media that this may have happened due to probably a faulty electric wire, but stated that there should be extra precautionary measures taken when people are doing such work, as one mistake leads to an unfortunate situation such as this. The deceased was 27 years old.

The second incident occurred in Se’ese’e, where a man in his earlier forties died after falling from a coconut tree. Su’a said that these incidents or accidents can be prevented and it’s unfortunate that these men lost their lives. He said the police are looking into this matter.

The third reported death was a fisherman, who went fishing with a friend. Su’a said according to the reports from the Tuasivi police outpost, the men went fishing and each went their own way to fish, however one of the fisherman found his friend floating facing down, an hour after they parted ways out in the open water.

Another concern that arose during the press conference, Su’a said, is the two back to back suicides — one a 56-year old man from Aleipata and the other, a 23-year old woman from Savai’i.

He also told the media that prior to arriving at the police station, they escorted the body of a 17-year old girl and according to preliminary reports the young girl, consumed paraquat — a toxic chemical widely used an a plant killer (weed killer).

Su’a told Samoa News after the press conference that all these six deaths will be treated as homicides until proven otherwise, and the police are investigating these deaths thoroughly.