In the last few hours, a health alert was decreed at the Ibagué headquarters of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, after the damage caused by the cold room for corpses. The entity requested the support of the Mayor’s Office to bury the bodies.
In this sense, according to the director of the Tolima branch of Legal Medicine, Aiana Lorena Roca, she sent the official letter indicating the emergency to the Government Secretariat, on July 4, specifying that the damage had been caused in the place where the bodies that have not been claimed by their relatives are stored, where there would be 40 bodies.
“In response to the damage to the cold room for corpses at the Ibagué Headquarters of the Tolima Section of Legal Medicine, since yesterday, where we have stored almost forty unclaimed corpses, many of them in a state of putrefaction, a situation that forces us to declare a health alert at this time,” said Legal Medicine in the communication sent.
The alert was given due to the spread of bad odors in the headquarters, since the entity does not have another means to refrigerate the bodies.
In response to the request for Legal Medicine, the Secretary of the City Government pointed out that “We had communication with the director of Legal Medicine and we have been working trying to find a solution to the eventuality that has presented itself to us in the refrigeration rooms. We hope that in the next few hours we will be able to overcome the contingency.”
After evaluating different options, the team pointed out that, given the urgency, the burial will be carried out in cemeteries of the city, In this sense, the official stated that 40 vaults had already been defined in the San Bonifacio Cemeterya space that offered them an alternative to move the bodies immediately, place them in chests and bury them.
“We are reviewing, asking for support from the different funeral homes and doing joint work, thanks to the solidarity of several of them, the respective transfer will be made,” concluded Roca.
In addition, he also emphasized that the cold rooms of other institutions that have one will be used, because at this time in the Forensic Medicine facilities, they cannot receive any body until the cold room is repaired.
Mayor of Ibagué in trouble, why?
In the last year, the mayor of Ibagué, Andrés Fabián Hurtado Barrera, has become famous for different events, although not very positive. One of them was the birthday party that he celebrated for his son at the Manuel Murillo Toro Stadium.
It was learned that on the afternoon of March 6, 2021, some 50 people gathered at the Ibagué sports venue to celebrate the 13th birthday of the mayor’s son.
The celebration would have started with a soccer game in which the honoree participated and was attended by his friends. As a detail of fine coquetry, the participants of the game wore the name of the birthday boy on their uniforms.
The Attorney General’s Office, which called Hurtado to answer for this fact, assured that the sporting event was attended by judges from the Tolima College of Arbitrators. He also pointed out that the soccer game was narrated by well-known sports journalists in the city, who had electronic and sound equipment suitable for this type of activity.
During the hearing to charge charges for the use of the stadium, prosecutor 53 of the unit for crimes against the public administration, explained that just when the 13th minute had elapsed (number of years the mayor’s son was serving) they suspended the match to sing to him the ‘happy birthday’ to the honoree.
But the details do not end there, the prosecutor maintained that the south dressing room of the stadium was also used at the party. It should be remembered that this space is intended for the players of Deportes Tolima in each soccer game. In this space, which would have been decorated with bombs and birthday details, recreationists came to encourage the celebration, cake, soda and pizza were distributed. Likewise, gifts for the minor.
The Prosecutor’s Office charged Hurtado and Ortiz with the crime of embezzlement for the improper use of that public sports arena, which carries a sentence of 16 to 72 months in prison and disqualification from exercising public functions for the same time. In case of being convicted, they would not have judicial benefits, this is because it is a crime that threatens public administration. Finally, at the hearing, the defendants did not accept charges.