By Mafugi Ceesay
Babucarr Mbaye Adama Saine, the 30th prosecution witness in the trial of the 9 NIA yesterday told the Banjul High Court that the death certificate of late Solo Sandeng was not supposed to be signed by Lamin Lang Sanyang, a former NIA doctor.
The witness claimed that only the doctor who last attended a dying patient is responsible for the signing of his or her death certificate, adding that in the case of Ebrima Solo Sandeng, it was signed by Lamin Lang Sanyang and there is no doctor with that name.
Mr. Saine, who is an administrator overseeing medical records department said he knew Lamin Sanyang as his senior as they trained together as state registered nurses and he also knew Lamin Lang Sanyang was working at the Serekunda General Hospital as a local staff and at the same time he worked for NIA.
He saidon April 15, 2016 there was no patient registered at the Serekunda General Hospital who died of shock and respiratory failure and there was no certificate of death issued to any patient who died at the hospital on that date.
“Ebrima Solo Sandeng did not die at the Serekunda General Hospital and Lamin Lang Sanyang was not authorized to sign the death certificates in the first place.
“When a patient died outside the hospital and is brought to the accident and emergency unit, the doctor who examines and confirms the death of the patient will fill and sign a form which will be issued to the family and a copy to the hospital which has not been in the case of Sandeng’s death certificate,” the witness stated.
He continued to reveal that the said death certificate was published on social media bearing the name of Lamin Lang Sanyang after which the General hospital received a letter from the Inspector General of Police and as a result, they summoned the head of the medical unit to bring the death certificate of Solo Sandeng who had replied that the said certificate is not serialized.
He said upon inspecting exhibit N page-by-page, they found out that seven pages were extracted from the book with the same serial number sent by the police. He said they responded back to the IGP confirming that the certificate was extracted from the accident and emergency record book.
He told the crowded court that the book (exhibit N) is always in the custody of the ward in charge and when he or she closes, it will be put in the hands of the most senior officer. He added that when the book is full it will be returned to medical records and those who can have access to it are nurses at the surgical ward where Lamin Lang Sanyang is working.
The trial continues
