Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital. [Source: RNZ]
A Supreme Court judge in Samoa has urged the government to address the lack of a pathologist to perform autopsies on bodies at the country’s mortuaries.
The Samoa Observer newspaper reported Justice Vui Nelson made the call during the sentencing of a father for the manslaughter of his 14-year-old son last year.
The deceased is one of 17 bodies awaiting autopsies at Tupua Tamasese Mea-ole Hospital on Upolu Island along with four others at the Savai’i Island mortuary.
Last week it was revealed the bodies were still awaiting post-mortem procedures, with some having been in the mortuaries for more than a year.
Justice Vui said this was a matter that needed to be brought to the attention of the Health Ministry.
