Police witness gets death threat

SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS are taking very seriously a death threat made to a policeman who is due to testify in a matter involving the kidnapping of Palmyra businessman Sarwan Kissoondan.

The police corporal is the second witness to receive death threats in the matter. Police sources told Newsday that on Wednesday a male person called the Ste Madeleine Police Station and asked to speak with the corporal. The officer who answered the phone told the caller there were two policemen attached to the station with that same surname and asked the caller to be more specific about the policeman with whom he wanted to speak.

Sources said the caller opted to leave a message for the policeman, saying that he (policeman) would not live to testify in the matter. The incident was immediately reported to senior police officers who have since requested a full report. The police are attempting to trace the origin of the call through  TSTT telephone records. The policeman who was threatened was promoted to the rank of corporal two weeks ago and was assigned to the San Fernando CID yesterday. Kissoondan, an auto rental businesssman, was kidnapped on February 23 and was released  18 days later after a large sum of money was paid to his kidnappers.