SURINAME – A 20-year-old man from Uitvlugt on Tuesday aimed his air rifle at himself before pulling the trigger. The young man told the police that he wanted to know if the bullet would penetrate the pair of jeans that he was wearing. The young man was eager to find out of his pants would be able to protect him from the bullet. The young man who  reportedly suffered a gunshot wound in his upper right leg was rushed to the Emergency Room at a local hospital…[+]

SURINAME – Statistics indicate that at least three homicides are reported every month this year. Police Inspector  Drohpatie Ramkhelawan from the PR Office from the Police Force Suriname (KPS) told Times of Suriname that “each death is one too many.” Statistics indicate that 18 men and 5 women have been killed this year. Last year 28 murders were reported. District Attorney Duncan Nanhoe told Times of Suriname that the Public Prosecutor’s Office closely reviews each case and takes the circumstances into account when demanding punishment for the perpetrators. 75-year-old Hildanpersad Babolall was killed during an armed robbery that took place along the Welgedacht A-weg. A security guard was also gunned down by Brazilians  at a gold concession located at Mama Nduka  Martin Lindveld, 53, was killed in his home which is located along the Vredenburgweg.  A man recently killed his parents at Livorno before setting his parent’s house and car on fire. He was arrested shortly after he had committed the crimes. A 54-year-old woman poisoned her 11-month-old grandson at De Nieuwe Grond. A soldier recently gunned down his partner who was a police officer. He has already been arrested. The police have not arrested all of the main suspects in these homicide cases yet. Investigations are still ongoing.

SURINAME / BRAZIL –  -Three drug mules who had left Suriname on a flight to Brazil  were caught red-handed at the international airport in Belem. Police officials from Belem on Tuesday indicated that the three suspects wanted to smuggle drugs to Holland via Brazil. Each of the drug mules had swallowed 100 cocaine pellets...[+]

SURINAME – Officials from the Public Health Bureau (BOG) on Tuesday reported 39 confirmed Chikungunya cases. “This means that it is now officially an epidemic,” said Maureen Wijngaarde-Van Dijk, deputy director at the BOG. The number of cases jumped from 31 to 39 within 3 weeks. An epidemic is defined as an occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people over a particular period of time.

“This is an epidemic because this is the first time that Suriname is being confronted with this virus,” said Wijngaarde. The deputy director compared the chikungunya epidemic to dengue. She explained that officials speak of a dengue epidemic when the number of cases is higher than the figures from the same period from previous years. Dengue already existed in Suriname but  chikungunya did not. The BOG received reports that indicate that kids from three schools located in the Commewijne District are infected with this virus. A physician from the RGD in Commewijne has reported these cases to the BOG. The doctor has already given medical treatment to these kids.  Wijngaarde pointed out that the kids live at Tamanredjo and that most of the confirmed  cases are from this region. The environment inspectors from the BOG are currently spraying the region to prevent the disease from spreading. The BOG is also inspecting the three schools.

Wijngaarde explained that the 39 people have been hospitalized. Officials do not rule out the possibility that more people are infected with this virus but that they did not have to be hospitalized. Wijngaarde pointed out that people must take the necessary precautions to contain the virus such as sleeping under a mosquito net.