Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, October 13, 2005
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Authorities Investigate Arson
Suspects in Hospital Fire
Arson suspects in the case of the Hospital Calderón Guardia fire are now under investigation, Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) spokesman Francisco Ruiz told The Tico Times yesterday.
(Click for more)
Mexican Globetrotter Cycles
Through Continent
Mexican youth Rubén Gómez, from Cuernavaca, Mexico, is visiting Costa Rica as part of a bicycle tour he started four months ago to collect knowledge about the continent's indigenous cultures.
(Click for more)
Man Arrested for Raping
Three-Month-Old Baby
Authorities have sentenced a Costa Rican to 18 years of prison after finding him guilty of raping a three-month-old baby.
(Click for more)
October 13
“Discovering Guayabo”
Documentary in English and Spanish, with subtitles in Spanish, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., channels 13 and 15.
Free Film Festival
Features “ Y Si Te Vi No Me Acuerdo ” by Miguel Barreda, Peru, tonight at 7 p.m., at Sala Gómez Miralles, Centro de Cine, Barrio Amón. Info: 223-2127, 223-0610.
Leer Es una Fiesta (Reading is a Party)
“French Poetry Night,” with guest writer and pianist Jacques Sagot, at 6:30 p.m., Casa de la Cultura, Heredia.
“Songs of Freedom”
Gospel concert by Masterkey, tonight at the Melico Salazar Theater, Av. 2, Ca. Ctrl. Info: 255-0618.
Edited By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net
Authorities Investigate Arson
Suspects in Hospital Fire
By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net
Arson suspects in the case of the Hospital Calderón Guardia fire are now under investigation, Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) spokesman Francisco Ruiz told The Tico Times yesterday.
Ruiz said no explanation other than arson could account for the fire that raged at the San José public hospital in pre-dawn hours on July 12, taking the lives of 21 victims.
Although OIJ has not found material evidence to support the arson theory, authorities suspect the fire may have been started with matches.
The fire started in a warehouse located on the third floor of the hospital's oldest wing, where no trace of any flammable substances was found, Ruiz said.
However, criminals could have easily started the fire in this area without any fuel, Ruiz said, explaining that lighting a match could send fire soaring through the warehouse, which was packed with paper and cotton.
While OIJ agents originally suspected the fire started because a lighting ballast malfunctioned (TT, July 15), they have discarded this idea. OIJ director Jorge Rojas told Channel 7 News Friday that investigations had showed the ballast was in perfect condition and “there is no way it could have caused the failure by itself.”
The fire at Calderón Guardia took the lives of 19 patients and hospital staff members; two more victims died after their evacuation from the hospital, according to OIJ.
See Friday's print or online pdf edition of The Tico Times for more on the Calderón Guardia arson investigation.
Mexican Globetrotter Cycles
Through Continent
Mexican youth Rubén Gómez, from Cuernavaca, Mexico, is visiting Costa Rica as part of a bicycle tour he started four months ago to collect knowledge about the continent's indigenous cultures.
The language teacher is traveling on his bike with approximately 80 kilograms of luggage and is usually hosted at fire stations in the countries whose indigenous communities he visits.
Gómez visits these communities for various days to learn about their religious and cultural traditions and their knowledge of natural medicine, information that he plans to later publish in a book.
He told the daily La Nación that indigenous people have a lot to show the world and are not taken into consideration.
He arrived in Costa Rica on Monday and will spend several days here before continuing his journey through Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela and Cuba before returning to Mexico.
-ACAN-EFE
Man Arrested for Raping
Three-Month-Old Baby
Authorities have sentenced a Costa Rican to 18 years of prison after finding him guilty of raping a three-month-old baby.
A tribunal in Alajuela, northwest of San José, sentenced Víctor Araya, who works as a plumber, yesterday.
The crime took place Sept. 9 in Alajuela when the baby's mother, Carla Soto, left Araya looking after her baby.
According to judges, the child's vagina was injured, but Araya claimed innocence, alleging the baby fell and hit some toys, causing the vaginal injury.
The Alajuela court also ordered Araya to pay $7,700 to the baby's family for the physical and moral damages inflicted on the child, and $2,600 to pay their lawyer's fees.
The defense has 15 days to appeal the sentence.
-ACAN-EFE
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