Guyanese woman dies in NY after setting self afire

May 29 2019

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A Guyanese woman living in New York took her life yesterday following a period of depression.  Dead is Shamwatie Loutan, 48, also known as Shantie Singh previously of Black Bush Polder, Corentyne.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the mother of three who had been awaiting the final decree in a divorce from her husband of more than 20 years set herself ablaze in the backyard of her Rosedale home. First responders pronounced her dead at the scene.

One of her two daughters spoke with media through tears describing Loutan as someone with “a heart of gold.”  “She put God first and her children above everything else and she meant well….her dreams and her goals were to see us aspire” she lamented.

According to the daughter and a neighbour though Loutan began displaying signs of depression, as the divorce progressed her actions were still surprising.

“It was just out of nowhere. I’m feeling a feeling I’ve never felt,” her daughter said.

A man coming out of Loutan’s former home confirmed that “she was depressed” but declined to say anything more about the victim while another male who identified himself as a cousin said “We have no idea what caused this. We never had a problem with her.”

Her husband, Indar Kumar Singh also known as Mahen, 50, was staying in Rosedale with family last evening.