By Ben TC Brooks
A famous palm wine tapper, Andrew Weah Chea, has been found hanging dead on a piassava tree, reportedly as a result of a mysterious fire incident.
Chea, who was 47 at the time of his demise, is a native of Gbeapo Kanweaken, the primary commercial hub of River Gee County.
Family sources confirmed to Rural Reporters News Network (RRNN) that during the morning hours of 9 July 2025, Chea’s charred lifeless body was discovered dangling on a burnt piassava tree, with what was left of his burned tapping instruments also in sight.
Up to press time, in spite of several inquiries made by RRNN, the cause of the fire that reportedly burned Chea to death was yet to be known amid ongoing police investigation.
Chea, a farmer skilled in tapping piassava wine, usually managed trees selected for tapping during both morning and evening hours.
The 47-year-old met his untimely death, after he left early in the morning to check as to which of his piassava trees were ready for tapping, when he encountered his tragic end, according to Comfort Chea, a sister to the deceased palm wine tapper.
Multiple family sources told RRNN that family members to the deceased became anxious when he did not return home by evening on that fateful day, thereby prompting them to search for him, and thereafter discovering him dead.
“We had no idea that anything was wrong until last night. When we woke up this morning and began searching for him, I was heartbroken to find my dear brother, who was only trying to support his family, hanging lifelessly,” Comfort lamented.
Chea is survived by his wife, two children, and other relatives, who might now be faced with many challenges including coping with his loss, as well fending for themselves, as he was the sole breadwinner for his family.
Meanwhile, the incident has prompted a response from the County Coroner Derrick Keah and local police authorities from Gbeapo District, who arrived at the scene and has since launched an investigating into Chea’s death.
The Coronor, police officers and a jury of 15 community members worked together to take down Chea’s body from the tree.
Following preliminary inquiries, the 15-member jury concluded that there was no foul in Chea’s death, with play Coroner Keah turning over the 47-year-old deceased palm wine tapper’s corpse to members of his family for funeral and burial arrangements.
