The bodies of two men shot on New Year's Day have been released by Samoan police, following an examination by a forensic pathologist five months after their deaths.
Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital Photo: facebook
The Samoa Observer reported the coroner ordered the post-mortem exam for the bodies of the two men, Elisara Fata Lole and Fata Utufua.
But Deputy Police Commissioner Auapaa'u Logoitino Filipo declined to comment on other bodies the coroner had ordered be held for post-mortems.
The Foreign Ministry said a forensic pathologist team from China arrived in Apia last month to conduct the examinations.
Earlier this year it was revealed the national hospital's mortuary had failed to properly store a backlog of bodies awaiting pathologist and police investigations, potentially undermining criminal cases.
The Ministry of Police and Prisons expressed concern over the increasing backlog of deceased people at the morgue, which were moved to a 40-foot container freezer this January.
Health officials had become concerned about their ability to be meaningfully examined after they had advanced into a state of decay.
These concerns are outlined in a letter to the District Court Judge Alalatoa Rosella Viane Papalii from the Commissioner of Police, Fuiavaili'ili Egon Keil, obtained by the Samoa Observer.
He said concerns were raised as to the evidential value lost with the decomposed bodies as well as the limited morgue storage space being taken up by the increasing deceased bodies, due to uncertainty about when an overseas forensic pathologist would be available to conduct post mortems.
After consultation with officials from the Health Ministry and the Office of the Attorney General, it was decided to relocate 15 bodies from the morgue to the freezer.
The Commissioner noted that all the bodies are the subject of ongoing police investigations.