Four people drowned on Margarita island in the same week that Colin died
Glasgow Evening Times (Caroline Wilson): The family of a Glasgow man who died in the Caribbean are taking their fight for an inquiry to the Scottish Parliament. Colin Love, 23, from Maryhill, drowned while swimming in the Playa El Agua resort, off the coast of Venezuela in January. However, his family say holidaymakers on the cruise to Margarita island were given no warning by the travel firm about the risks of swimming in the waters, which are known for powerful rip tides.
They want a change in Scottish law which would give procurators fiscal the power to hold a fatal accident inquiry if a death abroad is deemed suspicious. Many legal experts and politicians believe Scotland should be brought into line with England where the coroner must hold an inquest if it is felt the overseas investigation is inadequate. Colin's mother Julie has told how she was told by the Venezuelan authorities, "bury your son in England and you will get a full investigation."
Next month family and friends of Colin will present a petition to the Scottish Parliament calling on ministers to bring Scotland's FAI laws into line with England. Dr Kenneth Faulds, 21, a junior doctor working in Glasgow and friend of Colin, said: "The Scottish Government should be protecting Scottish residents from injustices abroad. "We don't have the protection that families have in England so the authorities abroad know that they can run amok with families in Scotland and that is why Julie has been treated so shabbily. She has never even had official confirmation that her son drowned. I had to fight to get the death certificate translated into English."
Dr Faulds claimed that an employee at the World Health Organisation told him that four people drowned on Margarita island in the same week that Colin died. He said holidaymakers were warned about the resort on the Tripfinder website by other tourists. "But the tourist industry is not going to publicize that because the cruise ships will go elsewhere. It is all about money. "Surely we should have the same rights as families in England."
Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill announced a review of FAI hearings last year, delighting campaigners who have fought for years for them to be beefed up. In June former Lord Justice General, Lord Cullen, published the findings of the year-long consultation involving lawyers, police, the Scottish Prison Service and relatives of the deceased. It revealed found were in favour of altering the scope of the Act to cover FAI deaths of Scots abroad.
Several MPs and MSPs also raised concerns the deaths of Scots servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq are investigated by overworked coroners in the south of England.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/
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