Police in Samoa have confirmed that a 59 year old man of Savaii died of gunshots at Faleatiu three weeks ago.
Police spokesperson Sua Le Mamea Tiumalu says the Police have released the body for burial but some matters remain unresolved.
“Right now we don’t have anyone locally who can determine which gun fired the bullets that took the life of the victim and to bring in an expert from overseas costs a lot of money,” said Su’a.
“We have students who are studying this area of police investigations in ballistics, but they are not in a position to stand in court as a witness so we are short on the proper staff we need,” he added.
There are only three types of rifles that are permitted in Samoa: 12 gauge rifle, 16 gauge rifle and .22 rifle.
Police have also not been able to determine what type of weapon was fired that claimed the life of the villager.
“There is no way we can tell which gun at this point, we just don’t have the expert, but we are not ruling out the fact that it may have been from an illegal firearm as well. However, investigations are still ongoing and hopefully we may determine that sooner rather than later,” he said.
Su’a says the shortcomings of the Ministry of Police are an area of improvement and the criticism they have received so far from the public are of good use to further develop the Ministry’s duties.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased have reportedly held his funeral in his village in Savaii.
The victim was found dead in a plantation at Faleatiu early this month.