Port of Spain, Trinidad (Trinidad Express) — A debt of TT$150,000 owed to Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) director Azad Niamat may have cost him his life.
The Express was told that on the day Niamat went missing on January 29 he went to collect money from a man who lives in East Trinidad.
The source told the Express Niamat was owed the money from the sale of two vehicles – a Mercedes Benz and a seven-seater. He sold the vehicle last March.
Niamat told someone close to him he was going to collect the money the day he vanished.
Niamat’s body was found on Monday in Brazil Village, near Arima.
The body was clad in clothing and a wristwatch which Niamat was last seen by his family wearing, and found less than three kilometres from where his Toyota Prado had been discovered the day after he was reported missing.
Due to the advanced state of decomposition of the body, the forensic procedure is that the identity still must be confirmed through deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing.
On Tuesday morning, Niamat’s siblings went to the Forensic Science Centre in St James to hand over samples of their DNA for the tests.
A relative of Niamat’s who requested anonymity said when he was last seen leaving his house in Chaguanas shortly before midday he was seen with a router and he told a nephew he was going to Port of Spain to have it repaired.
“We are just waiting on the results of the DNA tests before we can proceed with funeral arrangements. We haven’t heard how long the identification process will take,” the relative said.
The relative said Niamat’s wife, Greer Cumberbatch, has been distraught since he disappeared.
“She has been very, very distraught. She has not been able to catch herself since he went missing,” the relative said.
The couple would have celebrated 46 years of marriage on July 27.
Niamath was a father of two and a grandfather of five.
Cumberbatch has also said to be in constant contact with their children – their son who is a surgeon in England, and their daughter who recently migrated to Florida.
The family said Caribbean Airlines has offered to cover the expenses of their being flown to Trinidad, possibly by the end of the week.
Imam Morland Lynch, who was at the crime scene, told the Express Niamat had been his friend for some 20 years.
“He was a very loving person, a very generous man. This is a big loss to all who knew him, all in his community. He was a very respectful person. He had a big heart and a big hand,” said Lynch.
He said an example of his generosity was that Niamat had helped to build a mosque at Crown Trace, Enterprise.
Last week, Niamat’s family offered a reward to anyone who can bring information that can lead to him being found.