A Muslim leader mourning the death of his 22-year-old neighbour who was strangled in a Tobago guest house on Tuesday has called on the Government to "bring forth the hangman." Delivering remarks at the funeral service of Felicia Sabrina Samsundar at her Claxton Bay home yesterday, Imam Keith Jahoor declared: "We call upon the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. We call upon the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago to bring forth the hangman." Once a person is found guilty of murder, Jahoor said: "Our taxpayers money should not be able to feed or help that person who has committed such atrocious murder in this land." Otherwise, he said, those people would be free to commit other murders and more innocent lives would be lost.
Samsundar arrived in Tobago with a male friend last Saturday. She was found dead in the guest house with her face battered and the cord of a cellular phone charger around her neck last Tuesday. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled. Her 31-year-old male companion has since been arrested. Yesterday, Samsundar's mother Devicar was inconsolable as she stared lovingly at her eldest daughter lying in a white casket clad in a white wedding dress, complete with white gloves and a veil. The weeping mother whispered as she gently touched her daughter's face and hands. Emphasising that no one had the right to extract the life of another, Jahoor said: "Leave it in the hands of God and leave it in the hands of the Government."
Lamenting that we live in a godless society, Jahoor said the reason for the state of emergency was because of the senseless killings. He said parents should revert to the old-time method where they choose their children's partners. "In this sleepy village of Caratal Road murder has struck, the first murder in the village, let this be a lesson and let it be the last," he told scores of mourners. Delivering the eulogy, Samsundar's cousin Janice Mahangoo described her as a loving and charismatic person who was full of life. "Whenever she was around, there was always tonnes of laughter. She was everyone's favourite," she said.
Councillor Suresh Maharaj brought greetings on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister and Tabaquite MP Surujrattan Rambachan and former MP, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. Tassa was played as the casket was carried up a hill to the hearse. The cremation took place at the Shore of Peace. Pundit Sunil Seetahal-Maharaj officiated.